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IN POPPY LAND 


BY 

/ 

MABEL LOUISE FULLER 


ILLUSTRATED BY 

ELIZABETH S. TUCKER 



BOSTON 

DE WOLFE, FISKE & CO. 

361 AND 365 Washington Street. 



Copyright, 1890, 

By De Wolfe, Fiske & Co. 






C. J. PETERS & SON, 

Typographers and Electrotypers, 

145 high Street, Boston. 


TO 


CORA, MARIAX, AND ETHEL, 
Zi)is Book, 

IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED. 






FACTS ABOUT FAIRIES. 


In the ripple that runs on the river, 

In the bubble that broods on the sea, 

In them each, with a sigh and a shiver, 

A fairy sits, fain to be free. 

Then the sunlight beams in the bubble. 

And the ripple turns purple and gold. 

And the wings of the fairies undouble, 
Twice-radiant opals of old. 

And they play in the eyes of the baby. 

In the eyes of the flirt and the belle ; 

And I know not the havoc, that, maybe, 
They make in our hearts, would we tell. 

But the world is so bright with the fairies 
In the sky and the heart and the flowers, 

That the wisest and busiest tarries 

To welcome their pranks and their powers. 


Charles Knowles Bolton. 


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CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

1. In Poppy Land . .... 

. 

PAGE 

11 

II. 

Prince Merryheart and the Crystal Ball, 

39 

III. 

The Fascinating Griffin . 

• 

61 

ly. 

Princess Astra and the Serpent Stone 

85 

V. 

The Last of the Dryads . 

• 

133 

VI. 

Klaniving, the Wood Demon . 

• 

159 

VII. 

The Queen of the Blue Mountain 


187 



IN POPPY LAND. 


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1 


«*, i 


IN POPPY LAND. 


There was once upon a time a Prince whose 
kingdom reached so far that no one rightly knew 
its limits, and whose followers Avere so many that 
only the sands of the sea might outnumber them. 

The Prince lived in a beautiful palace made all 
of precious amber ; in his garden bloomed flowers 
of every hue; in his stables stood horses fleeter 
, than the AAund ; precious stones, diamonds and rubies 
and opals, rainbow-tinted, were in his coffers ; and 
at night, as by day, the sweetest singers and the 
most famed musicians amused, or soothed, or lulled 
the Prince to rest. 

And yet, in spite of all this, the Prince was un- 
happy, and the saddest thing about it all was, that 
• to save his life the Prince could not tell Avhat it 
was that troubled him. 

In vain had he summoned the wisest men of the 
kingdom, in vain had the courtiers sought to divert 
the royal mind, in vain had the most celebrated 
and learned physicians been consulted ; in spite of 


12 


IN POPPY LAND. 


all their efforts, the Prince grew daily more de- 
jected and more sad. 

At length a decree was issued that whosoever 
could find out what troubled the Prince should be 
presented with a robe of ermine, a purse of gold, 
and the high and honorable post of Chief Crowner, 
which was a very desirable position indeed, the 
salary being very large, and the work very slight, 
consisting as it did only in placing the royal dia- 
dem upon the brows of the king on the day of his 
coronation. 

In view of these many inducements, many peo- 
ple offered their services, but all failed; and at 
length even the Prince himself, who all along had 
been more hopeful than his followers, despaired 
of ever finding out the cause of his sorrow. 

One day, however, when he was trying in a half- 
hearted way to interest himself in a game of ten- 
nis, a page rushed into the royal presence, and, 
falling on one knee, said breathlessly that a Wizard 
of great power and renown was without and wait- 
ing to have an audience. 

“ And he is sure,” said the page, “ that he can 
relieve your royal highness.” 

“ Oh, very well,” said the Prince wearily, “ show 
him in,” and he sat down on a grassy knoll near 
at hand to await the Wizard’s coming. 

Hardly had he done so when the page again 


IN POPPY LAND. 


13 


appeared, followed tins time by a little old man 
closely wrapped from head to foot in a long -red 
cloak, from beneath the hood of which gleamed 
two black and piercing eyes. A white beard that 
shone like silver fell on his breast and reached 
nearly to the ground, and on the border of his 
garments were worked many curious signs and 
figures. 

Advancing slowly, the Wizard paused directly 
before the Prince, and clasping his hands upon his 
staff, rested there, silent and watchful. 

Greeting, good father,” said the Prince kindly, 
and he motioned him to be seated. “ Hast aught, 
thinkest thou, to avail us in our sorrow ? ” 

Slowly the Wizard bowed. 

“ Thanks, sire,” said he, and in a low, strange 
voice. “ These aged limbs are bent with fatigue 
and the travel of the way, and rest is grateful. 
But for thy question. Prithee, let me trace the 
lines upon thy palm.” 

The Prince smiled, but held out his hand, and 
the Wizard, taking it in his own, gazed upon it long 
and fixedly.. 

Then he shook his head. 

“ ’Tis passing strange,” he muttered, and look- 
ing up, he began to question the Prince. 

“ Sire,” said he, “ there is something here that 
baffles even my magic art, yet, perchance, methinks 


14 


IN POPPY LAND. 


I may still aid thee. Tell me one thing. Dost 
sleep well now at nights as heretofore ? ” 

The Prince mournfully replied that slumber had 
long since become a stranger to his drowsy eyelids. 

“ Then dost feel often an ache, such as physicians 
may not cure, in the region of thy heart, and 
oftener still a strange and potent yearning for 
something, the nature of which thou dost not 
know, which longing groweth stronger day by 
day?” 

“ Ay, truly, thou art right,” said the Prince in 
surprise,"* and he sat up, an expression of deep 
interest upon his face. 

“ Thei^” said the Wizard solemnly, “ I have 
found the cause of all thy sorrow.” He stood up 
and gazed impressively down upon the Prince. 

“ Your royal highness is — in love.” 

The Prince sprang to his feet and gave a long, 
loAV whistle of astonishment. Then he reflected a 
moment, and then he shook hands with the 
Wizard. 

“ It is true,” he said delightedly. “ I feel it. 
Something tells me that it is quite true. I am, 
undoubtedly, in love ; but — with whom ? ” 

“ Ah,” said the Wizard, “ that is the point ; 
with whom ? ” 

The Prince looked gloomy again, and sat down 
- once more. 


IN POPPY LAND. 


15 


“ One of the court ladies ? ” suggested the 
Wizard. 

“ Possibly,” said the Prince, brightening, and 
then he called loudly for his retainers, and in a 
moment the court was filled with men-at-arms, 
lackeys, and pages, all running to fulfil the royal 
behest. 

“ Go,” said the Prince to those there assembled, 
“ and let it be known far and near that the cause 
of our dejection is at length discovered.” 

He turned majestically towards the Wizard. 

“This learned enchanter has found out the 
truth. Know, then, that love is at the root of this 
matter. We have fallen in love, for so the Wizard 
hath it. Gather together the ladies of the court, 
and all beautiful maidens, of whatever station. 
Bid them assemble in the palace hall. To-mor- 
row, at ten, we choose our royal bride.” 

At this there was great cheering and a great 
commotion, and when the Prince was again 
alone with the Wizard, he turned to him and 
said, — 

“ Great, good father, shall be thy reward ; but 
first tell us, — how are we to know who, among so 
many, is the object of our search ? ” 

“ That is easily determined,” said the Wizard, 
“ for your royal highness cannot possibly mistake 
the feeling that will agitate you on beholding her. 


16 


IN POPPY LAND. 


Wait only until the morrow, and all shall yet be 
well.” 

Saying which he made a profound bow, and 
withdrew from the royal presence ; while the 
Prince himself, with head bent upon his breast 
and eyes fixed upon the ground, in deep thought, 
entered the palace portals — alone. 

When the news of this summons was carried by 
swift-footed couriers through the Prince’s domin- 
ions, from the east to the west, and from the north 
to the south, the wildest excitement prevailed ; and 
the dressmakers and seamstresses had all at once 
so many orders for costumes of rare beauty and 
elegant design, that they had to sit up all night to 
finish them; while the jewellers and hairdressers 
were equally in demand ; and, as for the manufact- 
urers of the Elixir of Beauty, they were enabled 
to sell out their entire stock, and grew all at once 
so rich that many of them retired, and some 
bought titles, and were made dukes and earls 
immediately. 

Within the palace itself all 'was likewise hurry 
and confusion. The immense audience-hall was 
draped with hangings of silver tissue; alabaster 
lamps were hung from golden chains from the 
roof ; ninety washwomen came and scrubbed, and 
then sand-papered, the marble floor ; all the brown 
holland covers were taken off the furniture ; each 


IN POPPY LAND. 


17 


page had a new livery of peach-blossom velvet 
slashed with wine-color and pinked out with seed 
pearls ; five new footmen were engaged for the occa- 
sion; seventy polishers came for the express pur- 
pose of polishing the golden dragons that supported 
the throne ; on the throne itself reposed a cushion 
worked in tints that outrivalled the rainbow in 
beauty; above, shone a canopy of azure thickly 
studded with diamond stars. When the Prince en- 
tered to behold the grand result, it was no wonder 
that a smile of contentment overspread his feat- 
ures ; but when he saw the vast multitude of fair 
and lovely ladies of every rank and station, that 
began to pour into the palace gate, his face again 
grew troubled, for it seemed to him a very diffi- 
cult thing to make any choice among so many. 

But then he reflected upon what the Wizard 
had told him as to the guide which his own feel- 
ings would furnish in the matter, and so it was 
with something of calmness, after all, that on the 
stroke of ten, he entered the audience-room and 
beheld before him the vast assembly. 

Like a bed of flowers nodding in the wind they 
appeared, with their gay gowns of every hue, and 
their faces shining with mingled expectancy and 
invitation. 

Slowly the Prince passed down the long line, 
looking at each one closely. Brown eyes and 


18 


IN POPPY LAND. 


blue, golden locks and tresses of midnight; this 
one tall and beautiful as a young poplar, that one 
tiny and sweet as a May-blossom. 

The Prince paused at the end of the long row, 
bewildered. All were graceful, all lovely, all 
charming; but not one, not one, had caused the 
Prince any particular feeling whatsoever. 

In vain did he scan each maiden’s face. That 
indefinite but powerful yearning still remained, 
and among all this beauty found yet no response. 

Sadly, therefore, he resumed his seat upon the 
throne. 

“ Ladies,” said he, “ I thank you — but I fear 
my unhappy fate is sealed. I admire, I viorship, I 
like you all ; but, alas, I do not love you. That, 
however, I cannot but feel is my misfortune — ” 
he made a low and courtl}^ bow, and all the ladies 
courtesied in reply. 

“ But,” added the Prince, “ let this not, I pray 
you, cast a gloom upon the festivities which are to 
grace the occasion. In an adjoining room, sher- 
bets and ices, and confections of all sorts, are 
placed at your disposal — my lords here will see 
that you go not unattended. To-night a grand 
ball will make memorable the meeting which, be- 
lieve me, shall ever be enshrined as one of the 
happiest of my life.” And laying his hand upon 
his heart, the Prince again bowed low in farewell. 


IN POPPY LAND. 


19 


Then the heralds blew a loud blast upon their 
trumpets, the door swung open, sweet music filled 
the air, and the feast began. 

But the Prince withdrew to pass the day in sad 
and solitary meditation after his disappointment, 
and it was not until evening that he again sought 
the Wizard, where, flinging himself wearily down 
on a couch near at hand, he related the failure of 
the experiment. 

The Wizard listened attentively, and when the 
Prince had finished, he thought deeply, and in 
silence, for some time. Then he said, — 

“ There is but one thing left now to do. I have 
consulted my magic books, and they tell me that 
she whom thou lovest is to appear to thee first in 
slumber. Drink, therefore, of this cup made from 
the leaves of the poppy. Sleep well. Prince, I 
watch and wait beside thee. To-night I view the 
stars in their course, and to-morrow will bring 
thee, if I much mistake not, good news and 
comfort.” 

The Prince thanked him, and, touching his lips 
to the proffered cup, sank immediately into a pro- 
found sleep. 

All night the Wizard watched beside him, and 
when the first rays of the morning sun fell, a golden 
flood, upon the amber turrets of the palace, the 
Prince awoke. And when he opened his eyes there 


20 


IN POPPY LAND. 


was a new light in their depths, and when he spoke, 
an underlying gladness in his voice. 

“ I have seen her,” said he to the Wizard. “ She 
was crowned with poppies, and her face was beau- 
tiful, more than that of the daughters of men. I 
love her. Tell me how I may find her.” 

“ She dwells,” said the Wizard, “ far, far away, 
and her kingdom is in Poppy Land. Albeit thou 
art destined to win her, set out at once. Mount 
thy fleetest steed, and ride until thou comest to the 
magic fountain which lieth to the west. There 
dismount. Hide behind the branches of the trees 
that grow near by. At evening a white winged 
horse will alight there to quench his thirst. Come 
gently forward. Seize him by the mane ; rilount, 
and away ! His home is in Poppy Land, and safe 
will he bear thee thither. Of what further may 
befall thee is not revealed. Only this, keep thy 
heart pure, thy face turned towards the setting 
sun ; and now all good fortune attend thy journey- 
ing.” 

Filled with gratitude, the Prince thanked the 
Wizard for his counsel, and begged him to remain 
and govern the kingdom during his absence. This 
the Wizard consented to do ; and hardly had 
he promised his assistance, when the Prince, bid- 
ding him a hasty farewell, prepared to set forth on 
his travels. Shortly, therefore, the great draw- 


IN POPPY LAND. 


21 


bridge was lowered, and over it in the early morn- 
ing rode the Prince, his charger bedecked with 
jewels, the white plume in his cap and his short 
purple cloak fluttering in the wind, and a bunch 
of fiery poppies glowing on his breast. 

Long he rode and steadily, till the walls of the 
city slione faintly in the distance and then melted 
out of sight, on through the green wood, on ’mid 
the lengthening shadows, on through daisy fields 
and emerald meadows, on by cottages, over the 
dusty road, fording babbling brooks, and so, till 
many a weary league was traversed and many a 
landmark passed. 

At length, glimmering indistinctly before him, 
the Prince perceived the magic fountain, and just 
at nightfall reached it. 

Plastily dismounting, he hid, as the Wizard had 
directed, behind the tree branches, and soon a great 
wind stirred them, and from his covert the Prince 
heard the sound of wings, and, looking forth, be- 
held the most beautiful horse that he had ever 
seen. 

Down as gently as a snowflake he came, and 
alighting, stood still for a moment, arching his 
neck, pawing the ground with his gold-shod hoofs, 
and seeming to listen suspiciously ; but finding all 
quiet he stooped to drink, and (Tn the instant, the 
Prince, springing forward, grasped the silken mane, 


22 


IN POPPY LAND. 


and the next moment was safe astride the charger’s 
back. The beautiful horse reared and plunged 
and quivered in every limb, but the Prince sat 
firm, and, finding the struggle useless, the winged 
steed at length mounted swiftly, and the Prince 
found himself in mid-air, the setting sun before 
him and the gate of Poppy Land opening in the 
distance and shining in the golden west. 

Straight as an arrow shot from its bow flew the 
white horse, and the Prince’s pulse throbbed and 
his heart beat loudly, the wind smote his face and 
blew through his nut-brown locks ; and below him 
like a star shone the magic fountain, and dimly 
glimmered the green earth. 

On and on, till suddenly the clouds of violet 
and crimson shut them in, then melted away, and 
the white horse alighted and stood motionless. 
And this was Poppy Land. 

For a space the Prince gazed at the lovely scene 
before him, but the sight of the city walls, glitter- 
ing in the sunshine, reminded him of his quest, 
and urging his now docile steed, it was not long 
before he entered the principal gate. 

When the people saw the Prince coming upon 
the white horse, there was immediately the great- 
est excitement, for never before had the winged 
steed owned, to their knowledge, a rider, and they 
crowded and pressed close about him, all talking 


IN POPPY LAND. 


23 


at once, and all asking questions. But the Prince, 
because of his station, was used to creating a com- 
motion, so he only bowed and smiled at the popu- 
lace, and when there came a lull for a moment 
amid the confusion, he inquired of one of the peas- 
ants nearest him the name of the principal inn. 

This being obtained, the Prince at once directed 
his way thither, still escorted by the multitude, 
and on reaching the place dismounted, himself 
placed his steed in the stable, and then, pushing 
past the wondering landlord, who stood open- 
mouthed at the door of the inn, the Prince 
entered, leaving the curious throng without. 

Now the noise of the tumult had reached even 
unto the palace, and it was not long before a 
page in scarlet came hurriedly running to demand 
the reason of the disturbance. And when he 
heard of the stranger who had come riding on the 
winged horse, he too was very much astonished, 
and, after having been helped up on top of an 
empty barrel, so that he was able to catch through 
the window a glimpse of the . new-comer quietly 
eating a hearty meal, the page ran back to the 
palace as fast as his short legs could carry him, to 
relate all that he had seen and heard. 

Rushing, therefore, breathlessly into the Prin- 
cess’s apartment, he found her sitting there on a 
low stool, obediently sewing a seam, with all her 


24 


IN POPPY LAND. 


maiden aunts, nine in number, who acted as chap- 
erones, around her. 

“ It is a young man who has come,” began the 
page, and the Princess ceased working imme- 
diately and looked up, but the Eldest Maiden 
Aunt made a sign for him to stop. 

“ Amabella,” said she, “ take your sewing, and 
go into the next room. We will discuss this event 
in your absence.” 

She turned to the other Maiden Aunts. With 
the young, one cannot be too careful.” There was 
an approving murmur at this sentiment, and the 
Princess only, looked rebellious. 

“ How I hate this old patchwork ! ” she said, but 
she rose wearily, nevertheless, and obeyed with lag- 
ging footsteps. But they had not told her to shut 
the door, so it was not altogether her fault perhaps, 
if some of the page’s conversation reached her. 

She forgot her sewing and sat with her dimpled 
chin in her hand, a little frown on her white 
forehead, and her brown eyes wide open with 
mingled meditation and interest. 

So the stranger was very handsome, and he had 
come into Poppy Land riding upon the beautiful 
winged horse. Surely, that was very remarkable. 
Should she ever see him, she wondered ; and if so^ 
what would he be like? There was a picture 
somewhere in an old, old story-book of hers, she 


IN POPPY LAND. 


25 


remembered, of a prince and a princess, and the 
prince was kissing the princess’s hand. 

The Princess looked at her own small hand re- 
flectively. 

She must find that old story-book, she thought. 

She had plenty of other books, geometries and 
histories and such things, but these would not do. 
She would look for that picture that very day, 
and — 

“ Amabella,” called out one of her Maiden 
Aunts, and when she returned they all reproved 
her severely for wasting her time. 

“ Only two inches of patchwork done, .your 
royal higliness ! ” said they. “ Pray, of Avhat can 
you have been thinking ? ” 

But the Princess only smiled a little to herself, 
and even when they told her that she must copy, 
in addition to her usual lesson, two j)ages of Latin 
grammar, she still smiled. 

Meanwhile, the Prince, having eaten his lunch 
at the inn, began to make inquiries, and he found 
out, before long, several important things. 

First, tliat the Princess was very beautiful, that 
she had just completed her seventeenth year, that 
she was surrounded and guarded, day and night, 
by nine maiden ladies, each one a dragon of 
decorum and watchfulness. 

There was no doubt about it, her royal highness 


26 


IN POPPY LAND. 


was being brought up in the most approved 
method, and a little later she was to many the 
Giant whose kingdom lay next to Poppy Land. 
The people all felt sorry for her, for they loved 
the little Princess with her tangled mass of golden 
hair, and her brown eyes that were so ready to 
laugh with their merry-making or weep for their 
sorrows. 

The Giant was a great, burly monster, with a 
loud voice, a long red beard, and a fierce and cruel 
expression. 

He had only visited the kingdom once, and that 
was a long time ago, but the peasants still remem- 
bered him and trembled at his name; and, as for 
the little Princess, she had hidden away in a cor- 
ner, and not all the nine maiden aunts together 
had been able to induce her to come out. But the 
Giant had only laughed, and had sworn that when 
she was a little older he would come and make her 
his bride. And then he had thundered away on 
his great black horse. Nightmare, and that was the 
last they had seen of him. 

When the Prince heard all these things, he 
thought and thought for a long time, and then he 
inquired the way to the nearest blacksmith’s shop, 
and there he had forged for him three arrows, 
one of iron, one of silver, and one of fine gold. 
Then the Prince went to the house of the Unex- 


IN POPPY LAND. 


27 


celled Poet, and asked him to make three love 
verses, each one to be more tender than the 
other. 

This being done, he next proceeded to the shop 
of the Chief Musician, where he selected a guitar 
of great beauty of workmanship and melody of 
tone, and having done so, the Prince returned to 
the inn. 

The next day, when the Princess and her duennas 
were taking their customary stroll in the palace 
garden, the Prince concealed himself behind the 
shrubbery, and just as the Eldest Maiden Aunt 
passed his hiding-place, he took the iron arrow and 
transfixing with it the first love verse, he shot 
with such good aim, that it fell directly at her 
feet. 

The Eldest Maiden Aunt gave a little scream 
of surprise and alarm, and all the other duennas 
followed her example. 

But when, curiosity overpowering her fear, she 
cautiously picked up the paper and glanced at the 
first few lines, she suddenly blushed and thrust 
the verses hastily into her pocket. 

“ Let us see,” said all the other Maiden Ladies. 

“ Let me see,” said the Princess. 

But the Eldest Maiden Aunt shook her head de- 
cidedly, and soon making an excuse, she retired 
to an arbor near at hand, where, being quite alone. 


28 


IN POPPY LAND. 


she pulled the paper out of her pocket, and put- 
ting on her eyeglasses, read it all through. 

“ How lovely,” said she to herself, — 

‘ Thine eyes so blue 
Methinks are true.’ 

“ Ah, and here, — 

‘ The rays they dart 
Have pierced my heart.’ 

“ And then at the very^ end, — 

‘ If you'll be mine, 

I’ll not repine.’ ” 

She sat for a long time thinking. “ What roman- 
tic sentiment and what elegant language,” said she 
to herself. “ It must be the stranger youth who has 
formed for me this sudden and deep attachment. 
It will not do to give him too much encourage- 
ment — and yet ” — 

But when the Princess returned, with the rest of 
the duennas, she found the Eldest Maiden Aunt 
still resting in the arbor. 

The next day they again all walked together in 
the garden, only this time the Eldest Maiden Aunt 
had on a new cap with a pale blue bow, and her 
best plum-colored silk, and her new lace mitts ; and 
sure enough, before they had gone veiy far, a 
silver arrow fell into the garden-walk at her feet, 


IN POPPY LAND. 


29 


and this time all the duennas were so anxious to 
read the paper,' and pleaded so hard to be allowed 
to do so, that the Eldest Maiden Aunt at length 
blushingly consented, only she sent the Princess 
away first to gather some poppies that grew at a 
distance. 

Now the Princess was very glad to do this, so she 
tripped merrily along through the tall field grass, 
but when she reached the spot she stood very still 
and forgot all aljout the flowers which she had 
come to find ; for there, standing before her, just as 
was shown in her picture-book, was the stranger 
youth. For a moment the Princess looked at him 
with wide-open eyes, but finally she found her 
tongue. 

“ Are you a Prince ? ” she asked timidly. 

“ Yes,” answered the stranger. 

“ And why have you come to Poppy Land ? ” 
asked the Princess. 

“ Because I love you,” said the stranger. 

“ Oh ! ” said the Princess, and then she said 
nothing. 

Then the Prince began to talk very rapidly, and 
he told her all about himself, his kingdom, his 
dream, his journeying; and the Princess listened, 
and she became so much interested that the Eldest 
Maiden Aunt had called her several times before 
she heard her and answered. 


30 


IN POPPY LAND. 


“ Why, where are your poppies ? ” all the du- 
ennas cried in chorus, when she appeared before 
them quite empty-handed. 

But the Princess was silent and hung her head. 

But the next day something happened. 

The Giant arrived unexpectedly, in the early 
morning, on his great, black winged steed, and 
everything in the palace was at once all confusion 
and excitement. 

He had come, he said, to marry the Princess. 
He was in a great hurry, and he wanted the wed- 
ding then and there ; and when all the Maiden Aunts 
held up their hands in horror and said, impossible, 
the Princess must have at least some weeks in 
which to prepare her trousseau, the Giant roared 
out “ Fiddlesticks ! ” in his great loud voice, and 
would only consent to wait a day and a night for 
his bride. 

“ And that is a day and a night too long,” said 
he, “but tell her to be ready early to-morrow 
morning, for I have affairs of importance on hand.” 
And then he retired muttering to his apartments, 
and left the little Princess weeping and trembling 
at the summons. 

But when evening came and they walked again 
in the garden, the golden arrow fell, and the Prin- 
cess saw the Prince as before, and told him all 
that had befallen her. 


IN POPPY LAND. 


31 


“Very well,” said the Prince, “then I will tell 
you what we must do. To-night I shall come 
with my guitar in the garden and play softly be- 
neath your window. When you hear me, open the 
casement, and let fall this white poppy bud. Then 
I will throw you a silken ball of cord which you 
must catch. Unwind it. It is a rope ladder; 
slender, but very strong. Fasten it to your win- 
dow and then descend. I will be at the garden 
gate on my white winged steed. Together we 
will fly, and the morning, I trust, will find us far 
on our way with the border of Poppy Land not 
many leagues distant.” 

“That will I do,” said the Princess, and the 
Prince knelt and kissed her hand, and she returned, 
thoughtful and silent, to the palace. 

That night the moon rose white and clear, and 
from beneath the Princess’s window there floated 
upward a strange, soft melody : — 

“ Open thy casement, my love, my sweet, 

For the night is fair, and the night is long ; 

And alone I wait, near the garden gate. 

And list to the nightingale’s song. 


Soft and sweet, it cometh to me. 

Singing of love that is e’er the same ; 
While the lilies tall, by the garden wall. 
Sway to and fro, with the glad refrain. 


32 


IN POPPY LAND. 


We are alone ’neath the silver moon ; 

Come, sweetheart, come ! and, hand in hand, 

E’er break of day, we’ll out and away, 

While far behind us lies Poppy Land.” 

When the Princess heard these words, she at 
once opened the lattice and let fall the white blos- 
som, and the Prince stooped and picked it up, and 
kissing it placed it in his breast. Then he tossed 
up the silken ball, which the Princess cleverly 
caught, and the next moment he held her in his 
arms. 

But at that instant there was a faint shriek, and 
the face of the Eldest Maiden Aunt appeared at 
a window above, and then was hastily withdrawn. 

“ She thought you were serenading her,” whis- 
pered the Princess, and she clung tremblingly to 
the Prince. 

“ Goodness ! ” said he in alarm, “ come, let us 
go,” and together they ran down the garden walk, 
and the Prince, hurriedly mounting the white 
winged steed, swung the Princess lightly up be- 
hind him, — and none too soon, for lights were 
beginning to gleam here and there throughout the 
palace, the courtiers and pages were running to 
and fro, and the terrible voice of the Giant was 
heard above all the clamor, demanding an explana- 
tion of the excitement. 

“Faster,” whispered the Princess to the white 


IN POPPY LAND. 


33 


horse, and, as if he understood, the noble steed 
fled like the wind. 

On in the pale moonlight through the sleeping 
city, out over the moors, away and away. 

But now, alas I was heard behind them the 
trampling of iron hoofs, and Amabella, looking 
back, saw in the distance the massive form of the 
Giant, on his black winged steed Nightmare. 

The Princess trembled with terror, but she 
patted the smooth coat of the white horse with 
her little hand, and murmured gently encouraging 
and loving words : — 

“ Swiftly, good steed, swiftly I See, there be- 
fore us lies the plain, and beyond that the forest, 
and then safety for us and rest for thee ! ” But 
though the winged creature seemed to hear and to 
understand, the Giant gained still upon them. 

Now he was ten paces away. Now still nearer, 
and now the fiery breath from the nostrils of the 
black horse smote them. 

Hastily unclasping her diamond girdle, the 
Princess threw it behind her, and the Giant, glanc- 
ing at the jewels for a moment, paused, hesitated, 
and then reined in the charger sharply. 

“ I can overtake them yet, easily,” he muttered 
to himself, “ and jewels like these are not to be 
left in the dust for any idle passer-by.” 

It was only a moment, and flinging the girdle 


34 


IN POPPY LAND. 


before him on the saddle, he mounted again in pur- 
suit, but the white horse was straining every 
nerve, and the distance had widened greatly. 

However, on and on went the Prince and the 
Princess, and on and on went the Giant, and now 
Nightmare again was close behind. But before 
them stretched a tall forest of poppies, and through 
these the white horse plunged swiftly. 

“ Help us, dear flowers,” begged the Princess, 
and the poppies nodded in answer and opened be- 
fore them to let them pass, but when the Giant 
came up they had closed again once more, and the 
black horse had to flounder through them as best 
it might. 

And now the gate of Poppy Land gleamed 
golden in the distance, and beyond it the Giant 
might not go ; but the white winged steed had be- 
gun to falter, and the strain was beginning to tell. 
A black cloud shut out the blue sky, the wind 
rose and shrieked dismally, and the Giant was 
again close behind. Closer and closer, and just 
before them the gate and freedom ; — closer, and 
the Giant leaned forward and caught the Prin- 
cess’s gown in his fingers, but the frail fabric tore 
in his grasp, and that moment the sun, coming out 
from behind the cloud, shone full on the Princess’s 
golden hair. 

The sight dazzled the Giant for a moment ; he 


IN POPPY LAND. 


35 


put up his hand to shield his eyes, and the next, 
the gate of Poppy Land swung back on its hinges, 
and the white horse and its burden were lost to 
sight. 

That night the Wizard had a dream, in which he 
saw the Prince returning, and when he awoke he 
ordered a grand feast to be prepared, and at the 
head of a large multitude he set forth to meet 
him. Nor was he wrong, for soon on the highway 
he beheld the Prince, and beside him a maiden, 
crowned with poppies and more beautiful than the 
sun, while close behind them followed the winged 
steed. 

Immediately the people uttered a great shout of 
welcome, and surrounded the Prince and Princess, 
and thus they proceeded homeward in triumph; 
and when they reached there first the white horse 
was lodged in an ivory stall, to eat fresh clover 
and gilded oats, and then the Prince and Princess 
went to the palace, where the Prince made a little 
speech, in which he thanked his subjects for their 
loyalty and presented to them their Queen, and 
when he finished, the shouts and cries of joy were 
redoubled, for the beautiful Princess had won all 
hearts. 

Then the Wizard showed the royal pair the 
books of state, and when the Prince saw how well 
and wisely the kingdom had been governed in his 


36 


IN POPPY LAND. 


absence, he was filled with amazement and grati- 
tude, and begged the Wizard to remain in the 
palace as Prime Minister, and continue to con- 
duct the affairs of the kingdom ; but the Wizard 
shook his head, and, though the Prince and Prin- 
cess both entreated him to remain, he said that he 
must depart forthwith on his travels. 

At length said the Prince, — 

“ What wilt thou, then, take from us as a token 
of our undying thankfulness and friendship ? 
Ask what thou wilt, and it is thine ! ” 

“ Then,” said the Wizard, bowing low, “ I would 
beseech her highness to grant me but the wreath 
of poppies which she wears upon her hair, that 
when I reach the haunts of men I may carry them 
with me, that their touch may soothe all pain, and 
banish all sorrow, and bring to little children sweet 
dreams of Poppy Land.” 


PRINCE MERRYHEART AND THE 
CRYSTAL BALL. 





I 




































PRINCE MERRYHEART AND THE 
CRYSTAL BALL. 


Once upon a time, in a country far away, there 
lived a little Prince, who was always so jolly and 
happy, so filled with joy and good spirits, that he 
came to be called, by all who knew him, Prince 
IMerryheart, and his real name, if he ever had one, 
was forgotten. 

Some people said this was because of his natu- 
ral gayety; but others, that it was because of a 
crystal ball that a fairy had given him at birth, and 
that he always wore around his neck and hanging 
from a golden chain upon his breast. 

Now the King of this land, who was also Merry- 
heart’s father, was a great and skilful hunter, and 
as he cared for nothing but killing hyptogriffs and 
shooting penticans, the little Prince was left very 
much to himself, especially as the Queen, his 
mother, was oftener in the parlor drinking tea 
with the duchesses and ladies of her court, or 
driving in her mother-of-pearl chariot returning 


40 


IN POPPY LAND. 


calls, or trying on her beautiful pearl and diamond 
trimmed dresses, than talking with Merryheart or 
visiting his workshop, or listening in the evening 
to his stories about the day, and holding him in 
her lap as your mother holds you. 

Nevertheless, the little Prince was but seldom 
lonely. In the first place, he had for his constant 
friend and companion his own dwarf. Happy go- 
lucky, who showed him the most beautiful games 
and taught him the loveliest tricks, such as the 
very easiest way of standing on his head and 
other things equally necessary and entertaining; 
and in the second place there was the whole great, 
wonderful forest for a playground, where every 
tree was a brother, and every fawn or squirrel or 
bird a playmate. 

Indeed, little Merryheart often found the day 
too short to do all the things he had planned, 
although he jumped with the best will in the 
world into his small royal coat and knickerbockers 
and was out almost before the sun had risen, and 
always before the sleepy old warden at the castle- 
gate was wide enough awake to know whether the 
small form that danced lightly by him was in fact 
a boy or a sunbeam. 

Sometimes perhaps the King would remember 
his son and heir, and would tell the Court Tutor, 
in a loud voice, to see that Merryheart had learned 


MEREYHEABT AND THE CRYSTAL BALL. 41 


the rule of three, and the multiplication table, and 
had studied the maps and knew the English gram- 
mar by heart before night, but the Tutor was 
always too busy to do more than pass the order to 
some one else, and by evening the King, too, had 
forgotten all about the matter ; so Merryheart grew 
up in ignorance of many of the things now taught 
in the {Schools. However, in those days reading 
and writing were not much thought of, especially 
for princes, and Merryheart knew already how to 
fence, and ride, and box, how to doff his cap and 
kneel to a lady, and this was quite all that was 
expected. 

Now, the castle, Merryheart’s home, was very 
old, and very large, and very gloomy. Hardly 
any one had been all over it, nor had even the lit- 
tle Prince, who had lived there all his life. There 
were many strange and dark corridors, leading no 
one knew where, and stairs leading no one knew 
whither, and hidden corners and secret chambers, 
and one of these secret chambers was always kept 
locked until the day that the heir of the throne 
became of age, when he was ushered in alone, for 
what purpose it was not revealed, and came out 
after a time looking always either very joyful or 
very sad. 

Little ^Merryheart had heard of this room, and 
so had the dwarf, Haj^pygolucky, and it was not 


42 


IN POPPY LAND. 


very long before they had come to the conclusion to 
find out, by some means or other, what this hidden 
chamber contained. There was first, hoAvever, the 
key to be found, and that was kept always in the 
strong room of the palace, along with the King’s 
best crown and sceptre. Happy golucky, however, 
was not dismayed; he had always the deepest 
conviction that something nice was forever on the 
point of turning up, and, trusting to the fortune 
that seldom failed them. Prince Merryheart and 
Happygolucky, hand in hand, and only a little 
afraid, went down the long corridor leading to the 
secret chamber. 

It was broad daylight elsewhere, but here only 
the bravest of sunbeams tried to struggle through 
the cobwebbed and dust-laden window-panes. Out- 
side, the birds were singing, the fountains playing, 
and the huntsmen calling their dogs and horses ; 
inside, nothing broke the profound stillness save 
the patter of the four little feet on the oaken 
floor of the hall. 

On went Merryheart and on went Happygo- 
lucky, and soon they came to the chamber portal, 
and here was the wonderful part of the matter 
— the door was ajar and swinging on its heavy 
hinges, just enough for Merryheart to catch a 
glimpse of the shadowy depth beyond. It must 
have been that the last person who had entered 


MEEBYHEABT AND THE CRYSTAL BALL, 43 

the room had either been so frightened or so 
hurried, from some cause or other, that the usual 
turning of the key in the lock had been quite for- 
gotten and afterward never remembered. How- 
ever, Merryheart did not stop long to wonder 
about this, but put his brave little hand on the 
hilt of his tiny sword, and, with a smile of fare- 
well to the dwarf, who remained outside, and with 
as bold an air as he could manage, walked straight 
into the dark and secret chamber. 

At first he saw nothing, but after a moment a 
faint glimmer of light seemed to come from the 
farther end of the room; which, after a little, 
growing stronger and brighter, showed to Merry- 
heart what seemed to be a long velvet curtain 
worked in curious figures and hanging near the 
ceiling from a rod of gold. This was not so very 
terrible, and, taking courage, the little Prince ad- 
vanced, and, holding tight one corner between his 
fingers, drew the velvet to one side. He then saw 
that it had served to cover a large mirror, such as 
he had noticed many times before in other parts of 
the palace. But no, not quite the same as those 
that he had seen, for now out of its misty depth a 
something, a picture, was growing. Merryheart’s 
eyes opened wide with surprise, for there, right in 
front of him, so near that he could almost touch 
her with his hand, he saw in the mirror the most 


44 


IN POPPY LAND. 


beautiful little girl in the world, sitting on a foot- 
stool, with a small golden crown on her curls, eat- 
ing a jam tart and crying as if her heart would 
break. Now, the little Prince could never bear to 
see any one in trouble, and so he grasped his sword 
more tightly, and called to her in a loud voice : 
“ Little girl, dear little girl, why do you weep ? 
Who is troubling you ? Tell me, that I may stop 
him.” But the little girl did not seem to hear 
him — she never even looked up; and then, as 
Prince Merryheart gazed and gazed, the picture 
grew fainter, the light dimmer, and in a moment 
he found himself in the darkness and alone. The 
only difference was that Merryheart felt very 
queer indeed, and as if he loved this strange little 
girl with all his strength ; and as if, also, he would 
never be content until he found her, and had dried 
her tears, and brought a smile to her pretty, rosy 
lips. 

Going thoughtfully out, he found Happygolucky, 
who had been playing jackstones and waiting pa- 
tiently for his return. 

Now, the real reason of what Merryheart had 
seen was this, although he did not know it until 
some time afterward. The mirror was a magric 
mirror, and had been in the family for many hun- 
dreds and hundreds of years. Looking in it for the 
first time, the Prince of the house always saw the 


MERRY HEART AND THE CRYSTAL BALL. 45 


ladj of liis love, and saw her doing also that which 
she was oftenest likely to do. Merryheart had 
seen the Princess Dolorosa, for that was the little 
girl’s name, and he had found her weeping and 
eating a jam tart at the same time, which meant 
that, however pleasant the thing that the Princess 
might be doing, she never took any delight or hap- 
piness in it, but wept and sobbed in spite of all 
one could do, and that from morning till night. 

Of course you will see at once that the Princess 
was under a spell, and you must try to fancy how 
very bad the spell must have been, and how uncom- 
monly strong, when she was able to feel sad and 
cry, and eat a jam tart at one and the same time. 

It all happened in this wise. At the christen- 
ing of the little Princess, all the fairies were in- 
vited, as is the custom in well-regulated courts, 
and each in return brought gifts. Among them, 
however, was the fairy Crosspatch, who had always 
tried, all her life long, to be as disagreeable as pos- 
sible ; and who, having lived already several thou- 
sand years, had had, as you may imagine, plenty 
of practice. She began on this occasion, by com- 
ing very late ; so that, before her arrival, the soup 
was cold, the guests both uneasy and hungry, and 
the Queen ready to cry for nervous vexation. 
However, she hobbled in as if nothing had hap- 
pened, and went straight to the throne, every one 


46 


IN POPPY LAND. 


falling back as she came nearer, for even the fairies 
present were afraid of her, knowing, as they did, 
her wickedness and her power. Indeed, their ma- 
jesties looked as if they, too, would have liked to 
run away ; but, as that could not be, they tried in- 
stead to appear as pleased and smiling as possible. 

Dear, dear, how very old you are growing,” 
said Crosspatch to the King, in her high, cracked 
voice, and then she went on to tell him of a revolt 
in a distant part of his dominions, and how the 
crops had failed in another portion. 

“ And why will you insist on wearing purple,” 
she said, turning to the Queen, “ when it is so un- 
becoming, and makes you look positively yellow ? ” 
and so on from one to another, until every one 
there at the court felt as uncomfortable as possible ; 
after achieving which. Crosspatch sat down at 
the table and made a hearty meal of ice cream, 
chicken salad, lobster patties, chocolate dclaires, 
frozen pudding, escalloped oysters and meringues. 
Meanwhile, the good fairies present, who felt very 
sorry for the poor King and Queen, tried to make 
things pleasanter by noticing the baby, who smiled 
and danced and crowed and kicked, and behaved 
like the very best little girl in all the world. As 
a matter of fact, the fairies were so enchanted that 
they gave little Dolorosa their very best gifts, — one 
bestowing beauty ; another, health ; another, a long 


mereyheaht and the cbtstal ball. 47 

life ; and when at length one of them ended by en- 
dowing the baby with hair that would never, under 
any circumstances, come out of curl, it did seem 
that Dolorosa, of all the Princesses in the world, 
was to be the most happy and fortunate. 

Crosspatch, during all this time, had been so 
busy eating as to forget very nearly all about little 
Dolorosa; but, just as she was finishing the last 
meringue, she heard the baby laugh, and to hear 
any one laugh, were it only a baby, always put 
Crosspatch in a passion. So she hobbled over to 
the group of fairies and stooped over the cradle. 
Touching the baby’s breast with one bony finger, 
she said, in a low tone : “ Be thou heavy of heart.” 
Immediately the little Princess’s face changed; 
the tiny mouth drew down at the corners, the lips 
quivered, tears stood in the pretty blue eyes, and 
Dolorosa began to cry. 

That was the beginning of the working of the 
charm, and that was why Merryheart came to see 
the Princess as he did. 

You can fancy, perhaps, the grief of the poor 
King and Queen, the wicked joy of Crosspatch, 
and the sorrow of the other fairies. For a time so 
stricken with despair were they, that nothing was 
done; but after a while the mother-heart of the 
good Queen took courage, and at her command a 
notice was posted on the palace gates with the 


48 


IN POPPY LAND. 


promise of a large reward to any one or anybody 
who could remove the spell or find some way out 
of the dilemma. In the beginning a large crowd 
of people of every class and condition besieged the 
audience-room, with all sorts of plans and cures for 
the trouble, from the Head Nurse, who prescribed 
soothing-syrup as likely to meet the case, to the 
bootblack on the corner, who offered to turn somer- 
saults or catch and swallow pennies for the royal 
baby’s amusement. 

But, unfortunately, all these theories turned out 
in practice dismally alike, especially in one thing, 
and that was their utter inability to please or 
soothe the Princess for even a single moment. 

After a time people stopped coming, and at last 
even the mother of little Dolorosa herself gave up 
all hope. When things are at the worst, however, 
light is very often at hand, and it came in this 
case from the visit of a Travelling Wizard. 

This Travelling Wizard was a very wise man in- 
deed, and the strange spell worked by Crosspatch 
interested him very much. He thought about it 
for two weeks without stopping, and finally it oc- 
curred to. him to look in his Book of Magic and 
see if there he might not find something to help 
the little Princess. But works on magic are almost 
always very badly written, and sometimes whole 
sentences of this one were left out, so it took some 


MERRYHEART ANB THE CRYSTAL BALL. 49 

time for him to find out the right thing ; but at last, 
with the book under his arm and his best gold- 
bowed spectacles on his nose, the Travelling Wiz- 
ard came to the palace gate and asked boldly for 
the King and Queen. 

Now, it was just the hour of the King’s nap, so 
he only turned over once and punched the royal 
pillow, and did not even answer the footman who 
came with the Wizard’s card ; but when the Queen 
heard of this new visitor her face brightened, and 
she ordered him to be admitted immediately. So 
up came the Wizard into the royal presence, and, 
after bowing very low, and coughing several times, 
and wiping his forehead with his red silk handker- 
chief, he unclasped the magic volume and told the 
Queen that all the Princess needed for a complete 
cure for sadness was to wear, if only for a few 
hours, the crystal ball. 

“ And what is the crystal ball? and where may it 
be found ? ” cried the Queen and all the maids of 
honor. 

“ The crystal ball, may it please your majesty, 
and you, fair ladies of this court,” answered the 
Wizard, “ is made of liquid sunshine mingled with 
determined cheerfulness, but where it may be 
found — this book — ahem — er — unfortunately 
does not say. 

“However,” he added, as the Queen’s face fell, 


50 


IN POPPY LAND. 


“ that does not so mucli matter, as for a small sum 
I am quite ready to prophesy that before her twen- 
tieth year the Princess Dolorosa shall be delivered 
from the spell, shall marry happily, and wear the 
crystal ball ; that is, if you are careful not to let 
circumstances interfere in the mean time.” 

At this the Queen clapped her hands for joy, 
and, presenting the Travelling Wizard with a chain 
of diamonds and a purse of gold, bade him farewell 
and good speed on his journey. 

We must now, however, return to the little 
Merryheart, who, ever since we left him, has been 
growing happier and stronger and more manly 
every hour, and falling deeper and deeper in love 
with the little girl of the jam tart and the mirror. 

At last, when he reached the age of seventeen, he 
could stand being away from her no longer, and 
taking Happygolucky he went to the King and 
begged permission to set forth on his travels. Now, 
the King had just heard of a new kind of hypto- 
griff that had lately infested the mountains near 
the palace, and he was too busy planning a hunting 
expedition against them to do more than nod his 
agreement to Merryheart’s request, without any 
very clear idea of what the request might be ; and, 
when the young Prince went in turn to say good- 
by to his mother, he found her very much excited 
over some new ball dresses, so he did not trouble 


MEREYHEART AND THE CRYSTAL BALL. 51 


her longer than was needful, but, receiving her 
hasty kiss, bade her farewell, and started forth on 
his journeying. 

But after he had gone, a darkness seemed to fall 
on the palace. The Queen found herself waiting 
and watching for the sound of Merryheart’s feet 
in the hall, and the bright, happy voice that used to 
float in through the castle windows. The King 
found hunting grow rather tiresome, after all, and 
spent many long hours before the fire, looking into 
the glowing embers and thinking of his far-away 
son. So lonely did he become, that had he known 
where Merryheart was, he would have sent after 
him with all haste, and besought or commanded his 
return, but he had not thought even to ask ; so he 
had to content himself with stationing a sentinel 
on the highest tower of the palace, with orders to 
watch for the Prince’s return, and with a promise 
of a purse of gold when he should bring the good 
tidings. 

Meanwhile, Merryheart and Happygolucky had 
journeyed many a dusty mile on the King’s high- 
road, and through many a dreary forest, where it 
would have been too dark and gloomy for them to 
And their way had it not been for Merryheart’s 
crystal ball, that rested right on his breast, glowing 
like a sphere of fire, and casting a light as from a 
torch all round and about them. 


52 


IN POPPY LAND. 


Presently, however, they saw in the distance, 
the spires and roofs of a noble city, and before 
evening they reached the gates, at which Happy- 
golucky boldly knocked. These swinging wide 
open at the touch, they entered, and found them- 
selves on a wide avenue shaded by great trees, 
and seemingly quite deserted. Going farther, how- 
ever, they heard a noise such as is made by a large 
crowd talking together, and before long they found 
themselves in the midst of a vast throng of peo- 
ple, who seemed greatly excited. Happy golucky 
mingled among them, and, coming back to the 
Prince, told him that the people were all feeling 
very badly because of the loss of their beautiful 
Princess. 

At this Merryheart clapped his hand to his sword 
and said, “ Who is this Princess ? why is she lost ? 
who has carried her away ? and what shall we do 
about it? ” 

“ The Princess,” said Happygolucky, “ is the 
only daughter of the reigning King and Queen of 
this country. Her name is Dolorosa, because 
from birth she has been always unhappy. Being a 
princess, she of course weeps pearls instead of 
tears, and a dreadful Dragon lives near by, in a 
place called Castle Dismal, who has carried her 
off ; first, because he loves to see people who are in 
sorrow ; and, secondly, because he wishes the treas- 


MEREYHEAET AND THE CRYSTAL BALL. 53 


ure of the Princess’s tears. And now,” said 
Happygolucky, bowing very low, “ what we are to 
do about it, I think your royal highness had better 
himself tell me.” 

At this Merryheart laughed long and joyously. 
“ This, sw^eet dwarf,” said he, “ must be the ad- 
venture that we have so long sought. We will 
save this Princess, Happygolucky. It is very 
simple. I shall go to Castle Dismal and demand 
to see the Dragon. When he comes, I shall tell 
him to give up the fair Dolorosa; should he re- 
fuse, or even hesitate, I shall cut off his head with 
this sword, and carry her away. In any case, she is 
saved.” 

May it please your royal highness,” said 
Happygolucky, “ the Dragon breathes fire ; he has 
seven blue tails and three heads.” 

“ And what is all that to me ? ” replied the 
Prince. 

“ But he has already taken and killed many 
noble knights, and they tell me that he minds a 
sword-thrust no more than a pin-prick.” 

“ We shall see. Lead on ! ” said Merryheart. 

So through the throng of people they went; 
Happygolucky crying out, in a loud voice : “ Make 
way for the noble Merryheart ! Make way for the 
Prince ! Make way for the champion who this day 
shall fight with the Dragon.” 


54 


IN POPPY LAND. 


At this every one fell back, some laughing at the 
stripling who seemed so bold, and others sighing 
that one so fair and young should be the next vic- 
tim of the frightful Dragon. 

In this way the Prince and his dwarf reached 
at length the palace gates, where a herald met 
them, with a request from the King that they 
should enter. Following him, therefore, to the 
audience-chamber, they found a vast number of 
knights and ladies, and in the midst, on a throne 
of gold, their majesties themselves. 

“ Who art thou, and what thy station? ” said the 
King to Merryheart, as he advanced and knelt, cap 
in hand, before the throne. 

“ May it please your Majesty,” answered he, “ I 
am Merryheart, Prince of a country many miles 
away, and I have come to try if 1 may save your 
daughter, the beautiful Princess Dolorosa.” 

At this the Queen, who had been weeping, 
looked over the edge of her handkerchief at 
Merryheart, and then whispered something in her 
royal husband’s ear, at which the King nodded. 

“Fair Prince,” said he, “the Queen is pleased 
with thy gentle bearing; welcome to this land. 
We greet thy coming. Save but our daughter, 
and she is thine ; but should the dragon kill thee, 
be assured of a funeral suitable to thy rank and 
station.” 


MERRYHEAUT AND THE CRYSTAL BALL. 55 

At this Merryheart bowed again very low, the 
herald blew his trumpet as a sign that the conver- 
sation was at an end, and the Prince and Happy- 
golucky found themselves again in the open air, 
while in the distance stood black and drearily 
against the sky, the walls and turrets of Castle 
Dismal. 

All next day they journeyed, and all that 
night, and the next gleam of morning found 
them before the huge portal of the Dragon’s 
palace. 

“Give me our royal visiting card,” said the 
Prince to Happy golucky, and without pausing he 
reached up on tiptoe and let fall the knocker. 
The hollow sound of brass on iron came fearfully 
through the heavy air, and in a few moments a 
slide was drawn, and the ugly head of a misshapen 
dwarf was thrust into the opening. 

“ What seek ye ? ” said he scoAvling, and in a 
voice that sounded like nothing so much as a key 
turning in a rusty lock. 

“ I am Merryheart, and I seek speech with the 
Dragon,” said the Prince, not at all abashed. 
“ Take thou this card, and tell him so.” 

At this the dwarf laughed loudly. “ My mas 
ter the Dragon shall come, be not afraid,” he an- 
swered. “ It is our breakfast hour, but he will be 
pleased to see thee. His faithful servitor, Sulkina- 


56 


IN POPPY LAND. 


corner, will tell him of thy coming,” and closing 
the slide he disappeared. 

So Merryheart sat down on the doorstep and 
waited, while Happygolucky began again his favor- 
ite game of jackstones. Presently, however, the 
Prince grew tired waiting; and hearing voices 
within, and noting the stout ivy that grew on the 
castle walls, he asked the dwarf if he would not 
climb up by means of the vine, and try if he might 
not see into one of the windows above. Happy- 
golucky, nothing loath, complied, and looking in 
through one of these, beheld the poor little Princess 
shivering and weeping in a corner, with chains on 
her delicate wrists ; while by her side grinned the 
ugly dwarf, and across the room, his little fiery 
red eyes fixed on Dolorosa, and his horrid scaly 
blue tails taking up most of the remaining space, 
sat the Dragon. 

At this Happygolucky grew very much excited, 
and called loudly to the Prince to come up. 
Merryheart, therefore, seized hold of the tough ivy 
tendrils, and in a moment found himself beside 
his faithful dwarf. No sooner, however, had he 
caught sight of the weeping Princess, than he saw 
at once that this was the little girl of the mirror, 
and, with a great cry, he leaped right through the 
window into the room, and drawing his sword, 
called upon the Dragon to surrender. 


MERRYHEART AND THE CRYSTAL BALL. 57 

At this the Dragon became very much enraged. 
His three heads uplifted, breathing fire, and quiver- 
ing all over with wrath, he advanced toward 
Merryheart, who bravely held his ground. 

Step by step came the Dragon, and the little 
Princess covered her face with her hands and 
shrieked aloud. Just as he reached Merryheart, 
the Prince drew his sword and dealt him a fright- 
ful blow, but the bright steel glanced off the 
Dragon’s scaly hide and flew in splinters to the 
other side of the room. And now, indeed, it 
seemed all up with the Prince and Princess ; the 
Dragon’s fiery breath smote Merryheart full in the 
face, and the air was black with smoke and heavy 
witli sulphur ; the Dragon was almost upon him, 
for Merryheart knew how to die, but had not 
learned to retreat. Nearer and nearer he came, 
when the Princess, who had been Avatching, in 
turn sprang to her feet, and catclifng the Prince’s 
cloak in her hands tried to pull him backward, 
beseeching him at the same time to fly and leave 
her to her fate. 

But her despairing movement had uncovered 
the crystal ball beneath Merryheart’s cloak, hang- 
ing from its golden chain, and now, in the dark- 
ness of smoke and sulphur, it gleamed like molten 
fire. Brighter and brighter, and the Dragon 
fell back before the radiance ; — brighter still, and 


58 


IN POPPY LAND. 


the ugly dwarf fled with a howl of rage and 
despair; brighter, till a ray of liquid sunshine, 
coming straight as an arrow from the golden 
sphere, fell full upon the hideous Dragon and 
pierced him to the heart. 

The brave little Prince and the fair little Prin- 
cess and Happygolucky were saved, and Dolorosa, 
for the first time since her christening, stopped 
weeping, and, throwing her arms round Merry- 
heart’s neck, thanked him as only a royal Princess 
can thank the hero who has just delivered her. 

And so the spell was broken, for in that em- 
brace the crystal ball had rested on Dolorosa’s 
breast long enough to dispel all gloom and sorrow. 
The Princess was found, and Merryheart's travels 
happily over. And some one who knows has told 
me that from that day onward the Princess was 
never known to weep, but became joyous as she 
was beautiful, which was quite all that one could 
wish. The crystal ball, having completed its mis- 
sion, was never seen again ; but some people think 
that it found its way out of fairyland, where, after 
all, it was hardly needed, and since then one may 
sometimes find on this planet an earth child, who, 
like the Prince of this story, wears the talisman 
next his heart. 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN. 


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THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN. 


Many years ago, in the heart of a strange and 
wonderful country, there stood a mighty forest, in 
which, because of the thickness of the trees and 
the density of the foliage, it was always twilight, 
however fiercely the sun above it might be blazing. 

So dark was it, indeed, and so vast, that but 
few people had ever ventured further than the 
outskirts, but these told in whispers of glimpses 
caught of some horrible monster that dwelt there, 
of strange sights and dreadful sounds, so that be- 
fore long the village folk spoke of the forest as 
enchanted. After this not one of them would 
have entered for anything. Had they done so they 
would probably have been very much frightened, 
for they would have been sure to meet the Griffin 
who made the woods his home. 

Now, the Griffin was very dreadful to look upon. 
He had, to begin with, a hard, scaly blue skin, and 
an immense tail with a dart on the end, eyes that 
blazed like fire, tremendous wings, and paws like . 


62 


IN POPPY LAND. 


those of a lion. For all that, the villagers, had 
they but known it, need not have been afraid after 
all, for in spite of his terrible appearance, the 
Griffin was kindness itself, and would not have 
hurt one of them for the world. 

Meanwhile his story was, without doubt, a sad 
one. Not very long before, the Griffin had not 
been a Griffin at all, but a young and handsome 
Prince, his present uncomfortable condition being 
due entirely to the anger of a wicked fairy, who 
had changed him by her magic art into the form 
which he now held. The worst of it was that 
this dreadful state of things was to last until 
some Princess, of her own free will, should fall in 
love with him and tell him so ; and when the poor 
Griffin beheld his own frightful image in the clear 
lake that served him for a mirror, the chance of 
this happening seemed very far away indeed. 

At first he was so discouraged and unhappy, that, 
having fled from his kingdom to the depths of the 
forest, he made up his mind to die rather than 
live on in his present shape and endure his wretched 
lot ; but after a time he began again to hope, if 
very faintly. 

“I may not be handsome,” thought the poor 
Griffin, “ and appearances certainly are against me ; 
but at least I can cultivate my mind and manners, 
and see if I may not efface, by my good breeding, 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN. 


63 


the impression that in the beginning I must, I 
fear, necessarily convey.” 

With this end in view, the Griffin decided to 
leave the forest, for he wisely reflected that where 
there was nobody to impress he could not expect, 
no matter how great his charm of manner, to suc- 
cessfully impress anybody, and in this light his 
new resolve seemed so sensible that on that very 
hour, the Griffin prepared to set forth. 

It took some time, however, to reach the border 
of his leafy dwelling-place, and to cross the plains 
and meadows that lay between the wood and the 
village, so it was not until sunset that the Griffin 
found himself at the end of his journey. 

He had beguiled the way with thoughts of how 
he should greet these good people, his nearest 
neighbors ; but here, alas ! a sad surprise was in 
store for him. 

Instead of listening or even waiting to hear his 
opening remarks, the townsfolk, one and all, on 
catching sight of him had taken to their heels ; and 
when the Griffin, much surprised and perplexed, 
walked up the principal street, he found it alto- 
gether deserted, and every door and window 
of the cottages at either side tightly closed. 

In vain did the Griffin put on his most amiable 
expression, in vain did he urge the inhabitants 
most affably to come forth ; his smiles, his courte- 


64 


IN POPPY LAND. 


ous words, his high breeding and charm of manner 
were alike ignored, nor did he receive the least at- 
tention, unless the handful of stones thrown at him 
by a small boy might be accounted as such. The 
stones rattled harmlessly off the plates of the 
Griffin’s natural armor, but the action hurt his ten- 
der feelings, and went far to show him how greatly 
his kind intentions had been misunderstood. 

Sadly, therefore, the Griffin went on liis way 
through the lonely streets, until he came to the 
public square, and there he beheld a sight that put 
every emotion save that of admiration to flight. 
For, standing fearlessly, directly in his path, was 
the most beautiful milkmaid the Griffin had ever 
seen. Her golden hair rippled in natural waves, 
and was fastened with an ivory comb in the pret- 
tiest way in the world ; her sleeves were rolled up, 
showing her round white arms, with the most fas- 
cinating dimple at the elbow ; her eyes were brown, 
and made you think of roses and music and moon- 
light seen through mist ; the striped petticoat re- 
vealed two bewitching little feet in high-heeled 
shoes that were fastened with silver buckles ; — and 
the result of all this loveliness was that the Griffin 
forgot everything, even his good manners, and 
stared at the pretty milkmaid as long and as hard 
as ever he could. 

However, she did not seem to mind it, for she had 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN. 


65 


only grown a little pale at first, and now the warm 
rose-leaf color was coming back to her cheeks 
again. Putting her milking-stool on the ground, 
she dropped a courtesy, and said in the sweetest, 
most musical voice, to the Griffin, “ I bid you good- 
evening.” 

At this the Griffin somewhat recovered himself 
and his manners, and replied to the courtesy by a 
most exquisite bow. Finding his tongue at last, 
he answered the salutation in kind ; and then, taking 
courage, he spoke of the weather, of his object in 
coming to the village, and of the strange conduct 
of the inhabitants. 

At this the milkmaid shook her head. 

“ They are uncultivated people, and don’t know 
any better,” said she, “and they are apt to be 
taken in by appearances. However,” she con- 
tinued politely, “ I am sorry that it should have 
happened,” and then, as if to make up for the 
behavior of the townsfolk, she asked the Griffin if 
he would not like to stroll with her for a while 
outside in the meadow. 

To this the Griffin assented joyfully, and po- 
litely offered to carry the milking-stool. So to- 
gether they began their walk — the pretty milkmaid 
talking all the time, and the Griffin listening and 
saying just the right word in the right place. 

“ To begin with, you must know that I am a Prin- 


66 


IN POPPY LAND. 


cess,” said she, “ that is, I was yesterday, and will 
be to-morrow. To-day I am just a milkmaid, and 
that is the reason I can talk to you and walk with 
you without an introduction. You see, I read in 
so many books that poor people were the happiest, 
that I thought I would try being a milkmaid, for I 
fancied that they had an especially good time. 
But it is not really very nice to be one, and I am 
very much afraid of cows ; so I decided, just before 
I met you, to go back to the palace this evening.” 

By this time they had reached the meadow 
without the village, and the Griffin, politely setting 
down the stool, brushed away the dust from the 
top with the end of his tail, and begged the Prin- 
cess to be seated. 

She seated herself at once, and the Griffin, finding 
a comfortable rock near by, followed her example. 

“ My name is Rosabella,” continued the Princess, 
“ and the only reason that I don’t want to go back 
is because I fear that my councillors will force me 
to marry.” 

At this the Griffin turned very pale, and his 
eyes flashed fire. 

“ I may be only a Griffin, but I have my feel- 
ings,” he said, in a voice choked with emotion. 
He was trembling all over, and the Princess 
stopped in amazement. 

“ What can be the matter ? ” she asked, in sur- 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN 


67 


prise ; but at this the Griffin subdued himself with 
an effort, and murmured something about attacks 
of this sort being common in his family. 

Rosabella did not altogether understand, but she 
was very much interested in what she was saying, 
so without urging any further explanation she 
went on, “ To-morrow a suitor will come for my 
hand. I have never seen him, but they tell me 
that he is very handsome.” The Griffin sighed 
deeply. 

“ He is fair, with blue eyes, and hair that shines 
like spun flax. Do you like that kind of a 
man?” 

“No ! ” thundered the Griffin in a terrible voice, 
forgetting everything, and brought to himself only 
by the startled look on the Princess’s face. 

She rose hastily. 

“ I must be going back to the palace,” she said, 
and indeed it had begun to grow dark. 

The Griffin felt very badly, but he was too polite 
to combat the Princess’s resolution. He, there- 
fore, arose also, and remained with his wings 
folded over his face — a sign of deep respect — 
until she had quite disappeared in the distance. 

When this had happened he again seated him- 
self, but he could think of nothing but the beauti- 
ful Princess, and the more he thought of her the 
sadder he grew, for he felt assured that he would 


68 


IN POPPY LAND. 


never never see her again, and if he did she would 
never never deign to look at him. 

He remembered his own hideous form, and lie 
thought of her perfect loveliness, and then it all 
came over him, and he groaned aloud, so that the 
villagers trembled, thinking it the muttering of a 
thunderstorm, and wondered much to see the sky 
so clear. 

After a time, however, the Griffin arose and 
began to go slowly in the direction that the Prin- 
cess had taken, and when he had followed in her 
steps for some hours, he at length beheld the tur- 
rets and spires of a great city shining like silver 
in the moonlight, while near at hand he beheld a 
sort of cavern hollowed in the rocks. 

“ Here,” said the Griffin to himself, “ will I 
make, for the present, my abode,” and entering, he 
stretched himself upon the sandy floor, and was soon 
dreaming happily of Rosabella. 

Meanwhile the Princess, having returned home 
by means of a chariot drawn by six milk-white 
horses that had been waiting near, was think- 
ing busily in turn of her encounter with the 
Griffin. 

She had been very much struck indeed by 
his beautiful manners and courtly bearing; and 
although she was aware how slight were his 
claims to beauty, the fact had impressed her but 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN. 


69 


little, while his brilliant conversation and his at- 
tentive listening to her own remarks had seemed 
to her, on the other hand, both astonishing and 
delightful. In fact, she could hardly think of any- 
thing else, and the ladies of her court found her 
much distracted whilst they related the events 
that had transpired in her absence. She received 
the beautiful gifts that had been sent her by her 
fair-haired suitor with indifference, and the prepa- 
rations for his welcome did not seem to interest 
her. 

On meeting the Griffin first in the village square, 
she had been, it is true, rather frightened for the 
moment, but she remembered her royal birth and 
how rude it would be to show any surprise or 
terror at any one’s appearance, and the Griffin’s air 
of distinction had soon reassured her. Now, she 
remembered with sorrow that she had left him 
abruptly and had forgotten to ask him to call, or 
yet where he lived, and she began to weep bitterly 
and would not be comforted. 

But the preparations for a grand feast went on 
nevertheless, and the third day all was ready. 

Strings of beautiful roses hung in festoons from 
the windows of the houses of the city, velvet 
carpets covered the streets, sw^eetest music filled 
the air, hosts of song birds in golden cages hung 
from arches built of flowers, wine played in the 


70 


IN POPPY LAND. 


fountains, all the gingerbread was gilt, and beauti- 
ful colored bonbons were scattered everywhere. 

In the tlirone room of the palace all was even 
more beautiful ; precious stones flashed, perfumes 
filled the air, and under a canopy of royal purple 
velvet studded with diamond stars, was the chair 
of state where the Princess was to sit, and this 
was made of purest gold. 

As for the Princess herself, she was dazzling to 
look upon in her white satin gown with its train 
of cloth of silver, embroidered with pearls and 
shining like the moon. On her golden hair the 
crown of state, and in her hand the sceptre of 
power. No Avonder the Prince shaded his eyes 
with his hand Avhen he entered and first beheld 
her. 

Well, there were a great many ceremonies, and 
the Princess grew rather cross and very sleepy. 

First a page in rose-color and green came out 
and announced the Prince’s coming, and named 
over all his titles ; and then an old, old councillor 
arose and talked for a long time about things no 
one understood or cared for, and every one looked 
very solemn and impressed. Then another old 
man in trailing robes of state made a speech Avish- 
ing joy to the Princess and Avelcoming the Prince; 
and last of all the Prince himself came forAvard, 
and kneeling on one knee, besought the Princess to 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN. 


71 


accept liis liand and kingdom. At this all the 
people cheered, for the Prince had scattered gold 
among them in the morning, and Avhen the noise 
had ceased, the Princess also stood up, as a sign 
that she was to speak, and then every one was 
silent. The Prime Minister handed her a scroll 
with everything written on it that she was ex- 
pected to repeat, but she pushed it away and 
began — and all the time she was thinking of the 
Griffin and of his graceful bearing, much more 
than of tlie Prince before her. 

She thanked them all very prettily for their 
good wishes, and the Prince for his trouble, and so 
far all was well ; then she said that she hoped that 
he would enjoy his visit, but — and here all the 
statesmen began to look alarmed — she should on 
no account marry for some time. 

Rosabella then sat down, and in a very deter- 
mined way, but an uproar immediately began, 
every one talking at once and arguing and quarrel- 
ling ; the Prince stood up looking very sulky and 
cross, and the councillors of the court flocked 
about the Princess, entreating, scolding, begging, 
until Rosabella put her rosy fingers to her ears and 
declined to listen to another word. And in the 
midst of all this confusion something happened. 
The great folding doors at the end of the room 
swung open, and striding through them and right 


72 


IN POPPY LAND. 


among the horrified mass of nobles and court ladies, 
came a massive figure, and the people fell on 
their knees and cried aloud in terror, — 

“ The Giant Furioso ! ” 

Straight to the throne came the Giant, and the 
councillors fled before him, and the Prince hid 
behind a marble pillar; but the Princess, though 
she turned very white, still held her ground. 

“ What seek ye, and why come ye hither ? ” she 
asked in her clear voice. “We have yet to learn 
that it befits our rank and condition to receive in 
this unseemly manner a stranger to our courts and 
land.” 

“ Thunder and lightning ! ” said the Giant in a 
voice like the muttering of an earthquake, so that 
all the people shivered with dread. “ Methinks 
I need but little heralding at this noble court. 
Methinks the good people of this land have cause 
to know me without such stately usage. As for 
an invitation, I need none, and I await none. I 
come hither of my own will and on my own 
pleasuring, nor do I return alone, for thou, fair 
Princess, art to accompany me.” 

At this, a wail of sorrow and despair arose from 
every throat, but the Princess, white as death, re- 
mained calm and composed, as befitted her royal 
training. 

“Furioso,” said she, “thou sayest well. We 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN 


73 


have cause to know thee. Many are the homes 
that thou hast plundered, many the fair flocks thou 
hast despoiled. Nevertheless, I yield me not until 
the last extremity, but appeal to the law regarded 
by men and giants alike, claiming three days 
wherein to And a champion to do battle in my 
behalf. Be he vanquished, I am thy victim ; be 
thou conquered, seek for no further mercy from 
the hands of Rosabella.” 

“ ’Tis well,” said the Giant with a grim smile. 
“ Albeit thou flndest such a champion, then do I 
hold myself in readiness to meet him.” 

Saying which he strode from the room, leaving 
confusion and despair behind him. 

During all this time the Griffin had remained 
sadly within the dark recesses of the cavern, and 
all his thought both day and night was of the 
lovely Rosabella whom he had met in the village ; 
but the more he thought of her the more unhappy 
did he grow, his horrible fate hung over him like a 
black cloud, and his heart came near breaking, so 
filled was it with love and anguish. 

His dwelling-place was so near the city, however, 
that he was able to see those who entered and 
those who came away : and on the first day of his 
hiding he noticed a gay and costly train of pran- 
cing steeds in gold and jewelled trappings, and men 
clad in foreign garments of strange and beautiful 


74 


IN POPPY LAND. 


stuffs. In the midst of these rode a young man 
with hair like flax, Avhom, with a sinking heart, the 
Griffin recognized as the Prince who was to wed 
the lovely Rosabella. At this a great rage tilled 
his breast, and he could hardly forbear to tear him 
to pieces, and scatter the lordly train ; but out of 
respect for the Princess, he overcame his wrath, 
though the effort made him feel extremely ill. 
Waiting, therefore, he remained in dreary solitude 
until the close of the third day, when a noise and 
clamor as of many voices and of hurrying feet 
reached him, and gazing in astonishment, he beheld 
the Prince and his servitors flying homeAvard 
down the dusty road with every appearance of fear 
and haste. 

This all seemed very strange to the Griffin, and his 
curiosity grew more and more intense every mo- 
ment. Nevertheless he waited with Avhat patience 
he might until evening, Avhen he sallied forth and 
soon reached the palace gate. Inscribed oiT this in 
great letters of brass that shone in the moonlight, 
Avas an inscription Avhich said that for three days 
the Giant Furioso would do combat with all 
comers for the hand of the Princess Rosabella, 
and at the end of the third day, should no one ap- 
pear in her defence, or should Furioso remain the 
victor, the Giant should claim the Princess as his 
OAvn. When he read this, the Griffin’s face Avas 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN. 


75 


quite terrible to look upon, such was his wrath 
and so hot his indignation ; but not having eaten 
anything for a long time, he had grown rather 
weak, so he decided to wait until the end of the 
third day before fighting with the Giant, and mean- 
while to spend the remaining hours in preparation 
for the conflict. 

As the time went by and no one appeared to do 
battle in her cause, poor Rosabella’s hope grew 
fainter and fainter, and the Giant more disagree- 
able, ugly, and boastful. Every day at the ringing 
of a certain bell, the people flocked to a public 
square, and Furioso appeared and made his chal- 
lenge ; but though they were all sorry for the poor 
little Princess, and loved her dearly, no one dared 
to accept her quarrel, and so the chance of her de- 
liverance seemed to grow less and less. 

At last the third day came, and trembling and 
pale Rosabella took her place upon the throne, and 
the Giant strode into the open ring below it. 

“ Who champions the Princess’s cause ? ” cried 
he in a loud voice, but no one replied. 

“Who champions the Princess’s cause?” he 
asked again, but still there was silence. 

Then in the awful quiet, he called again aloud 
and for the last time, — 

“ Who champions the Princess’s cause ? ” 

And in loud and ringing tones came the answer, 
“That do I.” 


76 


IN POPPY LAND. 


And at this there was a great stir among the 
people. They fell back on every side, and there 
before them all, Rosabella, her court, the nobles, 
and the multitude, appeared the Griffin ; and the 
Princess was so delighted that she just sat there 
and cried till her point-lace handkerchief was as 
wet as wet could be. 

Then began a most tremendous battle, and the 
most gigantic blows rained thick and fast. 

Furioso bellowed with anger, and the Griffin 
rumbled with wrath, and the sparks flew, and the 
ground was torn up on every side, and at last, after 
hours of the most bitter flghting, the combat was 
over, and Furioso lay on the ground quite dead. 
Then the Griffin arose, and bending before the 
throne said to Rosabella, with a courtly manner all 
his own, “ May it please your Serene Highness, 
Furioso is no more.” 

And having made this declaration, the Griffin 
turned, and gently waving aside all thanks, started 
in the direction of his cave. 

At this the Princess became very much alarmed 
for fear of losing him again, and, calling a page, 
she told him to run behind the Griffin all the way 
until he might return with news of his home, but 
on no account to approach him or trouble him 
with questions. 

This, indeed, the page had no great desire to 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN. 


77 


do; but as the Griffin went straight to his cave, he 
was soon able to come back to the Princess with 
news of what she wanted to know, and on learning 
the Griffin’s address, Rosabella was so delighted 
that she presented the boy with a bag of marbles 
richly ornamented, making him at the same time 
captain in the first corps of Royal Popgun Shoot- 
ers, a most honorable and responsible position. 

Then she retired into strict privacy and sat 
down to think. To begin with, the Griffin had 
gone aAvay without claiming the offered reward, 
Avhicli was the hand of Rosabella herself, but this 
the Princess judged rightly, after a prolonged 
survey of the mirror, to be more from delicacy 
than from any lack of inclination. 

Now it remained for her to tell him, her darling 
Griffin and brave Champion, her own feelings in 
the matter. Nevertheless, she had a great regard 
for propriety, and she wanted the thing conducted 
in a manner befitting a royal Princess. So she 
wrinkled her pretty white forehead, and rubbed 
her dimpled chin, and thought and thought, but 
all to no purpose. Then she rang for her ladies in 
waiting, and sent for all the books on etiquette 
to be found in her dominions, but these did not 
help her a bit, and finally, in despair, she decided 
to send for the Griffin and await inspiration. 

So a pretty little three-cornered note was writ- 


78 


IN POPPY LAND. 


ten, in which the pleasure of the Griffin’s company 
at five o’clock tea was requested, and this being 
despatched by a messenger boy, the Princess began 
to feel better, and went to try on various costumes 
to see which would be the most becoming. 

Now the Griffin, when he received the note, was 
in a great state of mind. At first he thought he 
wouldn’t, and then he thought he would. First, he 
was afraid that the Princess, on nearer view, would 
grow to hate him, and then the longing to see her 
drove everything else out of his mind. First, he 
thought he would plead illness, or another engage- 
ment, or the want of a dress suit, and then he felt 
that he would surely die unless he could come, and 
finally, in this frame of mind, he accepted, and the 
thing was done and past undoing. 

Then he sat up all that night and most of the 
following day until the hour named, and polished 
his scales till they shone like steel, and tried 
otherwise to make himself more presentable, and 
promptly at five o’clock he presented himself at 
the palace door, and asked to see the Princess. 

The footman, however, catching sight of the 
visitor, fled in terror to hide, instead of waiting 
to announce him ; so the Griffin was forced to 
walk in without ceremony ; and there in the par- 
lor, in the loveliest gown, with jewels in her 
hair and on her breast and on her fingers, seated 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN. 


79 


smiling at liim from behind the teapot, was the 
Princess. 

The Griffin wanted to fall at her feet then and 
there, but instead he only carefully shut the door 
behind him, and bade Rosabella good-afternoon in 
the most natural way imaginable. 

‘‘ I am so glad to see you,” said the Princess, 
dimpling and smiling, “ pray take a chair.” And 
then she began to blush, for the Griffin would in- 
deed have found difficulty in seating himself on 
any of the palace furniture, if at all. However, 
he did not seem to notice, but looked as amiable 
as possible, and thanked her for her kindness. 

“You were so good to save me from that horrid 
Giant,” said the Princess, and she smiled very 
sweetly indeed. 

“ Oh ! that was a mere bagatelle,” said the 
Griffin gracefully. 

“ Your teapot is very pretty,” then said the 
Griffin. 

“ Oh, thank you,” said the Princess. “ It is 
blue, and I have always admired blue so much,” 
and she looked hard at the Griffin’s scales, but the 
Griffin did not fancy for a moment that she could 
mean anything personal, so he only sighed and 
said nothing. Finall}^ — 

“ Let us play a game,” said the Princess, and of 
course the Griffin assented. 


80 


IN POPPY LAND. 


“ Do you know ‘ I love my love with an A, be- 
cause she is amiable’?” asked Rosabella, and the 
Griffin said at once that he did, and that further- 
more, it was the game of all others that he most 
admired. 

“Very well,” said the Princess, “then I shall 
begin. I love my love with an A, because he is 
adorable.” 

And she blushed and cast down her eyes. 

“ I love my love with a B, because she is beauti- 
ful,” said the Griffin, and he, too, grew very much 
embarrassed. 

“ I love my love with a C, because he is courtly,” 
said the Princess, and she looked harder than ever 
at the Griffin. 

“ I love my love with a D, because she is delight- 
ful,” said the Griffin, and he sighed again, only 
louder. 

“ I love my love with an E, because he is in 
earnest,” said the Princess. 

“ I love my love with an F, because she is fair,” 
replied the Griffin. 

“ I love my love with a G, because,” — and now 
the Princess grew rosy red, and her voice trem- 
bled, “ because he’s a — Griffin,” she said finally, 
and then covered her face with her hands. 

And at this a great light entered the room, and 
outside the birds began to sing, and when Rosa- 


THE FASCINATING GRIFFIN. 


81 


bella looked up, lo ! there on liis knees before her 
and kissing the hem of her garment was — no 
Griffin after all, but a young and handsome Prince, 
who, rising, caught her in his arms and called her, 
in a voice sweeter than anything she had ever 
heard, “his deliverer, his joy, and his heart’s 
delight forever.” 

This, then, was what happened to the Griffin, 
and all on account of his engaging manners, and if 
Rosabella had loved him before in spite of his 
hideous form, how dearly must she have loved him 
now that he w^as restored to his own proper shape 
again. 

And so, as all good story-tellers have it, they 
grew more fair and fond each day, and lived hap- 
pily together forever after. 


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PRINCESS ASTRA AND THE 
SERPENT STONE. 


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PRINCESS ASTRA AND THE 
SERPENT STONE. 


Once upon a time there lived a King and Queen, 
and they yearned for a baby girl more than for 
anything else in the world. 

“ How her little golden curls would catch the 
sunshine even in the dark corridors of the palace,” 
thought the Queen ; and, — 

“ How musical would be the sound of her little 
pattering feet,” thought the King, and though 
neither spoke, they both sighed. 

And now, because of their patience and their 
sorrow and their longing, the good fairies at length 
took pity on them, and one day when the Queen 
was sitting musing Qver her embroidery in the 
garden, a shadow darkened the air, and looking up 
she beheld a great stork wdth outstretched wings, 
whiter than snow, who bore in his beak a tiny 
bundle. 

Nearer and nearer he came, and at last he poised 
himself for a moment directly over the Queen and 


86 


IN POPPY LAND. 


the next instant something fell straight into her 
Royal Highness’s lap, and when Her Majesty looked 
up, lo ! the stork was but a speck in the blue sky 
overhead. And while the Queen was wondering 
at all this, a little cry sounded in her ears, and 
the something in the bundle in her lap fluttered 
and stirred. 

“ My crown and sceptre ! ” thought the Queen, 
“ what have we here?” and hastily with trembling 
fingers she undid the blue ribbon with which the 
package was tied, and when she had done so, she 
gave a cry so full of joy and astonishment that 
every one in the palace, from the Grand Vizier to 
the Chief Cook, came running out into the garden. 
And once there what do you suppose they saw ? 

Why, her Royal Highness crying and laughing 
at once, for very happiness, and in her lap the most 
beautiful little baby girl in the world, with golden 
curls just as the Queen had wished, and with great 
deep violet eyes that shone like stars. 

“ Bless my soul ! ” said the King, and he pushed 
his crown way over on the side of his head, so 
great was his surprise. 

“Goo, goo, mum, goo, gar,” said the baby, and 
then she thrust four dimpled fingers and one tiny 
thumb into her rosebud mouth. 

“ Call the Court Interpreter,” said the King to a 
page, but when the Court Interpreter heard for 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


87 


what he was wanted, he went and hid himself in 
the darkest part of the cellar underneath the 
palace, and the page came back trembling to tell 
the King. 

“ Ha ! ” said His Majesty in an awful voice, 
when he heard what the Court Interpreter had 
done, “ drag him forth ! Cut off his head I Bring 
him here at once. Shall our royal daughter’s first 
remark go unexplained and unheeded? Ho, there, 
my men at arms ! Hum ! hoi ha ! ” and he looked 
so dreadful in his wrath that all the people fell flat 
on their faces, and the royal bodyguard tumbled 
one over another in their wild efforts to reach the 
King first. And now no one could have told what 
would have happened had not the baby just then, 
frightened by all this noise and commotion, begun 
to cry. 

“ There ! ” said the Queen, turning to her royal 
consort, “ therp, I thought that you’d do something 
of the kind. What do you mean by frightening 
the little lamb half to death ? ^luzzer’s ittle petsy 
wetsy. There, there, don’t cry. Cutting off heads, 
indeed ! Go away ! ” 

“ But, my dear ! ” protested the King feebly, 
but he looked so very much afraid of his wife that 
the little page who had run on the message, had 
to cough several times loudly in order to hide his 
laughter. 


88 


IN POPPY LAND. 


“ Oh, don’t talk to we / ” said the Queen. “ Go 
away,” and she looked so fierce, and so much like 
a motherly hen defending her chickens, that His 
Majesty was more frightened than ever, only just 
then he caught sight of the page who had laughed, 
winking at another of the royal suite, and rapped 
him smartly on the head with his sceptre, which 
made His Majesty feel a little better. 

“ Since you really wish it, my dear,” he said, 
“ we may as well adjourn,” and he walked off with 
as much dignity as the situation would allow. 
And that was how the Princess Astra, for so she 
was shortly named, came to dwell in the royal 
palace, and be the much-longed-for daughter of 
the King and Queen. 

Well, the years rolled on, and soon, instead of a 
baby carried laughing and crowing in her nurse’s 
arms, the old pictures of former royal personages 
looked down upon a little girl in short frocks and 
with a happy, rosy face, who trotted hither and 
thither, and was busy from morning till night. 
First, there was Alfarita, her best doll and dearest 
companion to talk to, and in whom to confide plans 
and secrets ; there was the daily number of mud pies 
to stir and mix, and, finally, bake in the sun ; there 
were the long walks through the rose-gardens, 
where the tall flowers nodded above her head ; and 
sometimes a stolen run past the gate of the palace. 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


89 


when it had accidentally been left open, and out 
and away for perhaps an hour or more, on a tour 
of discovery in the great world without. 

Princess Astra was busy enough, to be sure, and 
when she tired of all these things, she would 
creep sometimes quietly into the audience-room 
and listen to the long speeches, and see the funny 
costumes of people from all over -the country ; or 
tease the Grand Vizier for fairy tales, or play with 
the Queen’s jewels, and string rows on rows of 
rubies, diamonds, and pearls. 

This sort of thing went on, till one day the 
good Queen died, and the King sent for little 
Astra, and had a long talk with her. 

“ You are getting to be a big girl,” said he, and 
Astra noticed and wondered why his eyes were so 
red, and why his voice trembled, “and now that 
your dear mother is gone, we must try to do what 
she would like in the matter of your education.” 

“ I don’t want my dear mother to be gone. I 
want to be with her,” said the little Princess. 

“ I cannot help that,” said the King sadly ; “ but, 
at least, though you may not see her, or be with 
her for many days, still you may make her heart 
glad by being a good girl, and doing what you are 
told by the teachers I shall procure for you.” 

“Very well,” said Astra, and her eyes looked 
very big and solemn, and she slipped down from 


90 


IN POPPY LAND. 


the King’s knee, and ran off to tell Alfarita all 
that her father had said. And now, after that, 
daily lessons began ; and Astra found that there 
were books and books to be learned, and things to 
be studied of which she had never dreamed. 
There was the Master of Deportment, who came 
twice a week and taught her how to sit down, how 
to stand up, and how to make court courtesies. 
There was the First Lady in Waiting, who insisted 
upon the Princess Astra’s having her hair put up 
in curl papers every single night, and who prac- 
tised her in saying “ prunes and prisms ” three 
times daily, to give her mouth a pretty shape 
when talking. There was the Lord High Hunts- 
man, who taught her how to ride and how to shoot 
with bow and arrow; and there was the Chief 
Councillor, who made her learn and repeat long 
speeches, beginning, “ My Lords and Ladies, and 
you, the good people of my realm ; ” and last, but 
by no means least, the Morning and the Afternoon 
Tutor, who taught her everything alphabetically, 
beginning with the properties of acorns and apple- 
carts, and going on down and through the list. 

And this continued until her seventeenth birth- 
day, when a great fete was given ; at the end of 
which Astra, seated upon a chair of state, only a 
step lower than the King’s own throne, was pre- 
sented with a long roll of parchment, on which', in 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


91 


letters of gold, was written in ten languages the 
fact that the Princess Astra, having completed 
her education, now fully understood all that a 
royal princess should know, and quite all her 
many teachers had been able to impart. 

After this there was more feasting and more 
speech-making, but at last even the little page, whose 
duty it was to hold up Astra’s train, had had 
enough, and long before he had arrived at this 
condition the very wisest statesmen, and the very 
oldest, could think of nothing more to say. So, 
after mutual greetings and good wishes, even this 
brilliant festivity came to an end. 

Well, the days rolled on, and now Astra found 
herself rather lonely. She was too old to play, 
and she was too learned to study, and so the 
hours hung heavily upon her idle hands, though 
she passed many of them over her embroidery, 
and still many more in the garden, where she 
wove beautiful wreaths of flowers or strung long 
chains of roses, and had marvellous and lovely 
waking dreams of what she should do, and what 
great things she would accomplish some day, far, 
far off in the golden future. But, at length, there 
was a sorrowful and sudden interruption to her 
hours of happy dreaming, for Astra’s father died 
suddenly one night, and the next day, instead of 
orderly preparations for his daughter’s coronation 


92 


IN POPPY LAND. 


going on in the palace, the wildest distress and 
confusion reigned. For a- message had come by a 
swift-footed herald, who bore the tidings of the 
approach of a wicked and powerful King, at the 
head of a great army, who was comiiig to take 
possession of the throne that now belonged by 
right to the Princess Astra herself. 

On hearing this, most of the courtiers ran away ; 
some to hide themselves from the sight and wrath 
of the usurping monarch, and others to throw 
themselves at his feet, and, declaring their allegi- 
ance, to beg for mercy ; and those who remained 
were so stupefied by terror as to be of no possible 
use or even comfort to the poor deserted Princess, 
who alone among them all remained calm and 
steadfast. 

Indeed, in Astra’s veins flowed only royal blood ; 
the kingdom was hers and hers only, and it was her 
place to defend her rights, if need be, with her 
life itself, though single-handed and alone. 

In vain, therefore, did her subjects entreat her 
to fly ; she resolutely refused to do so ; and wdien, 
at last, finding all remonstrance useless, her at- 
tendants themselves fled, she remained tranquilly 
alone in the palace of her fathers. 

So the days rolled on, and tidings came thick 
and fast of destruction and terror, and of the 
rapid approach of the usurping monarch, only 


PRINCESS ASTRA.. 


93 


Astra heard in her solitude none of these things, 
until one morning the long roll of drums, the sil- 
very call of trumpets, and the steady tramp of 
mailed feet announced to her listening ears the 
news that the invading army had really come. 

And now, for the first time, the heart of the 
Princess beat a little faster, but she was a king’s 
daughter and not easily afraid. 

‘‘I am alone,” thought she, “but I shall receive 
this monarch in my proper place, and in a manner 
befitting my royal station,” and going hastily to 
her chamber, she arrayed herself in the robes of 
state, and letting loose her long, golden hair, she 
placed the crown upon her head with her own 
white hands, and with stately tread and unfalter- 
ing mien she left her room, and entering the Hall 
of State, mounted the throne, and looking every 
inch a queen, there awaited the coming of her 
enemy. 

Nor, indeed, did she have long to wait, for soon 
on the outer gate of the palace was heard a loud 
knocking, as from gauntleted hands, and in a mo- 
ment the loud jar of brass against brass told Astra 
that the outer portal had been forced open. And 
now, on the marble pavement, resounded the 
clank of marching feet, which came steadily nearer 
— on through the wide halls and stately chambers 
of the palace, until the door of the throne-room 


94 


IN POPPY LAND. 


itself was reached, and there the sound ceased, 
and the multitude without stood waiting — for an 
instant only — the next, the portal was thrown 
open, and over the threshold stepped the usurping 
monarch himself, clad in full armor, and bearing 
in one hand a naked sword. 

Astra arose and stood waiting, and at the sound 
the King raised his eyes and then started back, for 
never in his life before had he beheld so beautiful 
a vision. 

There was a low murmur of astonishment 
among the waiting throng, and then silence. Astra 
herself was the first to speak. 

“Whom have we here?” said she, in her low, 
musical voice, and fixing her eyes upon the King 
as if calling him to account for his presence. 
“ Who is it that thus, at the head of armed men, 
intrudes himself upon our privacy? ” 

For a moment there was silence, but the eyes of 
the King flashed fire. 

“ Fair lady,” said he, with mock courtesy, 
“ prithee, pardon our unseemly haste wherewith, in- 
spired by the report of thy great beauty, we have 
forced ourselves into thy presence ; and pardon also, 
we entreat, our desire to see if thy loveliness be 
enhanced by the presents which, hoping to please 
thy fastidious taste, we have made so bold as to 
bring thee.” And, motioning to a slave, he bade 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


95 


him carry forward a casket set with precious stones, 
such as was used in those days when one monarch 
•wished to bestow some gift as a token of kindli- 
ness and good will upon another. This was placed 
upon a cushion of ruby velvet, and the King, ad- 
vancing to the throne, knelt on one knee before it, 
and then rising, mounted the steps and seized the 
Princess by the wrist, and so tightly that the iron 
gauntlet bruised her delicate flesh. Half-support- 
ing, half-dragging her to the spot where lay the 
casket that the slave had brought, the King touched 
a secret spring, and the cover flying open, Astra 
beheld within a glittering heap of golden chains. 

“ These,” said the King, “ are the presents which 
we have brought thee, fair Princess, in token of 
our royal favor,” and, calling to his men-at-arms, 
he commanded them to load Astra with the fet- 
ters ; and in a moment she stood before them all, 
still calm, still fearless, but bending like a broken 
lily beneath their cruel weight. 

Still smiling, the King again turned. 

“ These be but rough maids for one so fair,” 
said he, pointing to her guards, “ but of thy royal 
clemency forgive their clumsy manners. And 
now,” he added, “ we will not detain thee longer, 
or trespass on thy patience ; rather, shall we beg 
thee to retire and rest while, by thy good leave, we 
•will endeavor to furnish and to find entertainment 


96 


IN POPPY LAND. 


for these our faithful followers,” and, calling one 
of his soldiers, he commanded him to lead Astra 
away; and soon the poor Princess found herself 
once more deserted and alone, but no longer free, 
for, still weighted with chains, she was cast into a 
dark and loathsome dungeon, there to await the 
pleasure of her conqueror. 

And now the poor Princess was indeed filled 
with bitter sorrow. At first, so great was her grief 
she could hardly raise her eyes to look around her, 
but sat with her head in her hands, while the big 
tears crept through her fingers and fell in pearly 
drops to the floor of her prison. Finally, however, 
she sat up, and tried to find out something of the 
cell into which she had been thrown, but the at- 
tempt was all in vain, for the only light came from 
a tiny window overhead, and the sunbeams that 
had strayed in through that opening had become 
disheartened long before they had penetrated the 
darkness that lay beneath, enveloping the poor 
Princess like a veil. 

Astra, therefore, stretched out her hand to touch 
the wall on either side, and find at least the length 
and breadth of her dungeon, but the movement 
made her golden fetters ring again, and reminded 
her so painfully of her captivity that she gave up 
this attempt also in despair. 

Suddenly, however, a rough grating noise was 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


97 


heard, and the door of her cell opening, a handful 
of straw, a lighted lamp, a loaf of bread, and a 
stone jug of water was pushed silently within, and 
retreating steps told the Princess that her jailer 
had visited her for the night. 

At first the idea of eating in this wretched place 
was so repugnant to Astra that she turned her 
back upon her humble supper in very scorn, but 
after a time the pangs of hunger began to assert 
themselves, and almost unconsciously she broke 
off a piece of bread, and began her solitary meal 
with far more appetite than she had ever brought 
to the magnificent banquets at which, in happier 
days, she had been wont to attend. And now the 
Princess raised the jug of water to her lips, but at 
that instant a ripple of elfin laughter reached her 
ears, and made her draw back in alarm. Again, 
and then by the fitful gleam of her lamp, the 
Princess beheld the funniest little figure, dressed 
all in green, and dripping wet, and, strangest of 
all, seated upon tlie very edge of the stone jug 
which she a moment before had been holding. 

“ Ho, ho, ho ! ” laughed the Elf, and he held on 
to his sides for very mirth, and rolled about so 
queerly that before Astra knew it, she too had 
broken into a laugh as silvery and clear as a chime 
of silver bells. 

“ There, that’s right,” said the little man, and he 


98 


IN POPPY LAND. 


slid down the handle of the jug, and taking out a 
tiny pocket-handkerchief that was fully an inch 
square, he began to wipe his funny little face and 
hands. 

When he had quite finished this process to his 
own satisfaction, he climbed back to the edge of 
the jug, and crossing his knees, sighed contentedly 
and looked hard at Astra. 

“ You are the Princess,” he said, at length, “ and 
you have been thrown into prison by the Tyrant 
yonder,” and he made a face in the supposed di- 
rection of the King’s chamber. “Now, I have 
come to get you out,” and he settled himself into 
a still more comfortable position. 

“ You are very kind,” said Astra, but he looked 
so earnest, and so very small for so great a work, 
that she could hardly forbear smiling. 

“Not at all,” said the little man amiably, “and 
first let me relieve you of these,” and touching the 
Princess’s chains with his finger, they fell at once 
to the floor. “ You see, I like you, and I don’t 
like the King. It is very simple. I saw the jailer 
coming hither with your supper, and I tumbled 
into the jug of water before he knew it. That 
was to surprise you, and I think that I succeeded. 
Ho ! ho ! ho ! ” and he laughed again so heartily 
that Astra was in momentary terror for fear he 
should lose his balance and go over backwards 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


99 


again into the water. Presently, however, the 
little mannikin quieted down. 

“Now,” he continued, “you are to do exactly as 
I bid you ; and, by the way, perhaps I should in- 
troduce myself,” and he rose with great dignity. 
“ I am Hob, Prince of Goblins,” he said. 

“ Happy to meet your highness,” said the Prin- 
cess courtesying. 

“ And I have thought of a splendid plan whereby 
you can make your escape. But, first, kindly cut 
off a lock of your beautiful golden hair,” and he 
handed her a tiny dagger for the purpose. 

The Princess did as she was requested, and 
again the little man resumed. 

“ Now, I am going to call a few of my followers, 
and while some of them braid this long tress into 
a ladder, others will knock out a hole in the wall 
for you to pass through, and when this is done, 
with my strong right arm will I aid you to descend. 
After doing which, all will be well.” 

“ Oh, thank you,” said the Princess, though she 
feared very much for the strength of a ladder 
made only of golden hair. 

“Very well,” said the Prince of the Goblins, 
and he rapped three times on the edge of the stone 
jug with the hilt of his tiny dagger. In an instant 
Astra heard the hurried pattering of hundreds of 
tiny feet, and soon from all sides swarmed numbers 


100 


IN POPPY LAND. 


of little men, who saluted her respectfully, and 
then pressed around their leader who had sum- 
moned them. 

“ Friends and subjects,” said Hob with dignity, 
“ I have summoned you hither that you may aid 
me to effect the escape of the Princess Astra 
whom you now behold,” and in trying to make a 
low bow, he lost his balance for a moment, but 
turning a complete somersault, regained again his 
footing, and went on as if nothing had happened. 

“Some of you make a ladder of this lock of 
her golden hair, and weave among the strands as 
you braid them the charm that will enable it to 
bear her weight. You others knock out a hole in 
the wall whereb}^ she may get through ; and while 
you are doing these things, I myself will divert 
her mind with my engaging manners and instruct- 
ive conversation.” 

At this there was some commotion, but soon all 
had set briskly to work, and while they did so. 
Hob related to the Princess his further designs for 
her well-being. 

“ There is a cottage,” said Hob, “ which I know 
very well, and which I think would suit you 
exactly. There you can live in peace and quiet, 
and my willing followers will see that you never 
want for aught that they can procure for you. In 
return, if you will but kindly consent to sew on 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


101 


an occasional button or mend a rent in our gar- 
ments, we shall feel more than repaid. 

“ You see,” he added, “ Goblin tailors use cob- 
web thread invariably, and that is not very lasting, 
but if you will consent to take their place at odd 
times and on important occasions, the obligation, I 
assure you, Avould be very great.” 

“ Why, I should be delighted,” said Astra, and 
she laughed to herself at the thought of how 
small even a very big tear would be on those 
diminutive garments. 

“ That is splendid,” said Hob, and he executed 
a figure of the hornpipe all by himself, and then 
jumped down from the top of the jug to the floor. 

“ See, they are ready,” said he ; and, sure enough, 
Astra saw the ladder quite finished and hanging 
outside from a large opening in the wall that the 
busy workers had made. She looked below, and 
then started back in affright. 

“ Oh, I can never go down there,” she said, 
trembling. “ Why, they have put me in the very 
turret of the palace, and it is miles to the 
ground.” 

“Oh, no, it isn’t,” said Hob encouragingly. 
“ Just shut your eyes and trust to me,” and he led 
her to the opening in the wall and told her to put 
her foot on the first rung of the ladder. Astra 
obeyed, though her heart seemed to leap into her 


102 


IN POPPY LAND. 


mouth with terror, and slowly, but surely, she de- 
scended, Hob uttering encouraging words, and the 
Goblins steadying the ladder whenever it threat- 
ened to sway beneath her weight. 

“ There ! ” said the Elfin Prince in triumph, and 
Astra, opening her ej^es, found herself at length 
on solid ground, with the tower of the palace 
gleaming white in the moonlight, and far, far above 
her head. 

“Good,” said Hob, “and now to the cottage,” 
and taking Astra by the hand, he ran along at 
such a tremendous pace that the poor Princess had 
to beg for mercy and stop frequently to take 
breath. 

On and on they went, however, the Goblin 
troop close behind, till the palace was left in the 
far distance, and before them Astra saw a densel}^ 
wooded forest. 

“ Here is to be your home,” said Hob, as they 
entered. And, sure enough, they were now on a 
little path that wound prettily in and out, and 
which, before long, led the whole party to a tiny 
cottage, painted red with white trimmings, that 
stood with open door, hospitably ajar, as if await- 
ing their arrival. 

Astra loved it at first sight, and when on enter- 
ing she beheld the clean sanded floor, the little 
white wood cane-seated chairs, the open fireplace. 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


103 


with a fire already lighted on the hearth, and the 
bright brass kettle that hummed contentedly over 
the blaze, she felt indeed as if the splendid palace 
of her fathers had never been, with all its beauty 
and grandeur, what this little cottage was to her 
already — a home. 

“ Come in, come in,” said Hob to his followers, 
and he rubbed his hands with delight, and took a 
flying leap over the settle as the Goblins entered. 

And now Astra felt very glad indeed that among 
the other branches of her education she had 
studied cookery, for, tucking up her long train 
and turning up her sleeves so high that the dimple 
in her elbow showed plainly, she proceeded to 
make for the party, of the materials near at hand, 
the most delicious broth and tea-cakes, such as few 
mortals have rarely been so fortunate as to have 
eaten. 

“ Good I better I superb I excellent ! magnifi- 
cent I ” said Hob, with his mouth full, and passing 
his plate for more, and all the Goblins gave a long 
low murmur of assent and approbation. And so 
the feast went on, till even the Elfin Prince could 
eat no more. 

“Well,” said Hob rising, and speaking for the 
party, “all I can say is, that you have done re- 
markable work — remarkable ! I speak from a 
goblin standpoint, which is, I may say, a very high 


104 


IN POPPY LAND. 


one. No one could do better. We thank you 
heartily and sincerely. For the present we leave 
you, but should you need our assistance, merely 
throw a pinch of salt into the fire, and call on Hob, 
Prince of Goblins, and never, madam, shall you 
call in vain,” and making Astra a profound bow, 
he walked majestically away, the elfin horde fol- 
lowing close at his heels, and soon the Princess 
found herself again alone. 

Well, the weeks went by, and Astra was very 
happy, far happier than in the days when she had 
but to wish, to have her wants gratified, and when 
she had been waited on by inches. There was her 
cottage to keep neat and in order, her simple 
meals to prepare, her garden to water and tend 
daily, the birds with whom to make friends, long 
talks with Hob, pilgrimages to the forest, and 
sometimes tiny buttons as big as pins’ heads to sew 
on, or rents a quarter of an inch long to mend for 
her goblin friends. Indeed, she was busy enough 
from morning till night, and to keep busy is often 
a very good way to keep happy. At least Astra 
found it so, but one morning something happened 
to change the even current of her life and give 
her thoughts new meaning. On rising she beheld 
over the back of a chair, instead of her usual 
gown, now somewhat worn by constant use, a 
magnificent costume of palest blue, heavily em- 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


105 


broiclerecl with pearls, with fan and ribbons and 
dainty shoes to match. 

“How very strange!” thought the Princess, 
and looking closer she beheld a pencilled scrap of 
paper pinned to the gown, which said, — 

“ From Hob, Prince of Goblins, to Astra, greet- 
ing ; ” and underneath was written in a smaller 
hand, — 

“ To be worn immediately.” 

“Well,” thought Astra, “they are very kind, 
but Pm afraid they don’t know much about the 
sort of dress one ought to wear to cook in. How- 
ever, I think that I must just try it on,” and when 
she had done so, her mirror gave her back such 
a wonderfully beautiful picture that Astra, half- 
ashamed of her own loveliness, ran and covered 
herself all over with a great big white apron, that 
hung straight from her round white chin to her 
pretty little feet, and thus self-eclipsed, like a sun 
going under a big white cloud, she went down- 
stairs to prepare her breakfast. 

But she had hardly begun when a loud knock- 
ing sounded from without on the cottage door, 
and Astra’s heart began to beat fast. However, 
she remembered her powerful friends so near at 
hand, and that gave her courage, so going to the 
threshold she drew the latch. Instantly the door 
flew open, and there, to her astonishment, Astra 


106 


IN POPPY LAND. 


beheld the handsomest young man she had ever 
seen in her life. He, on his side, was equally as- 
tounded at beholding so lovely a vision, and so 
they both stared for some few moments with 
eyes big with wonder, and neither saying a word. 
At last Astra recovered herself and stepped 
aside. 

“ Will you not enter? ” she said sweetly, and I 
can promise yon the Prince, for he was a Prince, 
did not wait to be asked twice. 

So he came in and sat down, and Astra sat down 
too, but she kept one eye on the kettle to see that 
it did not boil over. 

“I have come from a long distance,” said the 
Prince, “ for my kingdom lies west -of the rising 
sun. My name is Ariel, and I was lost last even- 
ing in this forest, and at daybreak a wreath of 
smoke curling upward from your cottage showed 
me this place, and I thought I would venture to 
come and ask my way of whoever dwelt within ; 
and,” he added, “ I wonder if you know how glad 
.1 am to have done so? ” 

“ Oh,” said Astra, and then she blushed, but the 
water in the kettle began to bubble at that mo- 
ment, and that saved her answering. ‘‘ But,” 
said she to herself, “ he must be very hungry. I 
wonder if I might not invite him to breakfast ? ” 
and as she could think of no reason why she should 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 107 

not do so, she asked him immediately if he would 
not share with her her simple fare. 

“That 1 will,” said the Prince, and before she 
knew it, Astra found herself talking as freel}^ to 
this stranger as though he were an old friend, 
wliile Ariel peeled the potatoes and she laid the 
cloth for the morning’s meal. Well, after break- 
fast, Ariel wiped the dishes while Astra washed 
them, and after that he Avorked in the garden, or 
would have worked there, had not Astra taken off 
her great white apron and sat demurely down to 
her spinning, and then I’m afraid the Prince did 
more gazing in her direction than anything else. 

Well, the hours went by so pleasantly for them 
both, that when the clock in the cottage struck 
twelve, and Astra found it time for the mid-day 
meal, they Avere both very much astonished, and 
Ariel rose reluctantly and said that he must tear 
himself aAvay. But he added that if the Princess 
did not object, he Avould like to return on the fol- 
loAving morning, and Astra Avas kind enough to 
tell him very earnestly indeed that she did not ob- 
ject in the least. 

So the Prince, having learned the Avay to the 
outskirts of the forest, bade her a fareAvell which, 
though it Avas for so short a season, took them 
both such a long time that Avhen Astra’s dinner 
was ready it Avas very, very late indeed. 


108 


IN POPPY LAND. 


And now the days fairly took unto themselves 
wings, and flew away, no one knew how or whither, 
and Ariel found his way so many times to the 
cottage that there was a well-worn path through 
the wood where his feet had trod. It was wonder- 
ful the many things that they had to say to each 
other. If Ariel snared a rabbit, or shot with his 
bow and arrow some bird or other, it was, of 
course, to Astra that the game had to be brought 
at once ; and when Astra discovered by accident 
tlmt there were seven pink rosebuds, instead of 
five, on the bush in front of the cottage door, how 
she saved the good news to tell Ariel, and how 
wonderfully interesting it was, to be sure I Of 
course the matter had to be investigated, and it 
took a very long time indeed for them both to be 
quite satisfied that there were really seven roses 
instead of five as they had at first supposed. 

And, since they told each other all these little 
things, it is not at all wonderful that they had also 
related many times the story of their lives, and 
Ariel vowed vengeance against the wicked King 
who had so maltreated his lady-love, while Astra 
shed many a silent tear over the sorrows of the 
Prince himself. For the Prince, it would seem, 
had for his enemy the powerful and wicked 
Cobrina, the Serpent Queen, and she it was 
who, having driven him from his home and king- 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


109 


dom, was even now plotting to work his further 
ruin. 

“You must know,” said the Prince, “that one 
day, when hunting in the forest of my father’s 
kingdom, I saw a hideous serpent which had fasci- 
nated a white dove. The poor little bird, impelled 
by a mysterious power, was draAving nearer and 
nearer to its horrible fate when I perceived it. 
Hastily throwing myself from my horse, I struck 
the serpent with my sword, cutting off his ugly 
head. In an instant all was confusion. The 
wood rang with a thousand voices, and from be- 
hind a gigantic oak tree stepped Queen Cobrina 
herself.” 

“ Oh ! ” said Astra, and she trembled all over. 
“You should have seen her,” said Ariel, “for I 
cannot begin to tell you how hideous she is. 
Lithe and graceful, but Avith an ugly flat head ; 

. coarse, straight black hair ; cruel eyes, as black as 
midnight, but long, narroAV and unwinking, like 
those of a serpent; her skin dark like mahogany ” — 
“ Dreadful ! ” said Astra. “ Don’t please tell 
me any more. Only what did she do ? ” 

“ She AA^as in a furious rage,” said the Prince, 
“for it seems I had that moment killed her chief 
councillor, Avho, having changed himself into a 
snake, had been amusing himself in his own fash- 
ion. At first Avrath so choked her that she could 


110 


IN POPPY LAND. 


neither speak nor move, and I took advantage of 
the pause to spring again on my horse, and putting 
spurs to my steed, to fly from her sight. Only 
once did 1 look back, and then I went on faster 
than ever, for in her hand I beheld the serpent 
stone itself, and knowing its wonderful powers, I 
could hardly believe my own good fortune and 
escape. The rest you know, how Cobrina threat- 
ened my father’s life did I not leave the kingdom, 
and how, after passing through many dangers, 
I at length reached this heavenly place — and 
you.” 

Ariel took Astra’s hand in his and looked into 
her eyes, but the Princess blushed and said 
quickly, — 

“Tell me the nature of the serpent stone of 
which you speak.” 

Now Ariel would much rather have talked of 
something else just then, but Astra’s wishes, how- 
ever slight, were law to him ; so he answered and 
told her that in the serpent stone of which she 
questioned lay the chief part of Cobrina’s power. 
It Avas set in a ring which she always wore, and by 
its means any one holding it in their possession 
could change either mortals or fairies into any 
form at will, or restore any one so changed to his 
natural shape again. The stone itself was a 
small, dull, green gem, that shone Avith a feeble 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


Ill 


lustre, and it never left its place on the hand of 
the Serpent Queen for a single instant. 

“ That is why,” continued Ariel, “ that she is 
so much to be dreaded. Hitherto I have escaped 
her because my hiding-place has been unknown, 
but she believes me to be her deadly enemy, and 
rightly, for I have made it my mission to capture 
and kill one whose power works solely for harm, 
and who is known far and wide for acts of wicked- 
ness and cruelty. And now, dearest Princess,” he 
went on, “ you too have been the victim of injust- 
ice, and have suffered many things. May I not 
be your knight, and right, by means of my good 
sword, 3"our wrong ? Hitherto I have passed many 
a happy hour by your side ; now it is time for me 
to go out again into the great world, and do a 
man’s part therein. If I return the victor, with 
your kingdom won again, and the Serpent Queen 
powerless for harm, will you not reward with your 
hand one who loves you so truly and so well ? ” 

He sank on one knee before her, and Astra 
bowed her head and sat with downcast eyes, per- 
haps because she feared the light of joy in their 
depths would betray her. 

“ If I fall ” — said the Prince, but Astra stood 
up: 

“ Fall I That can never be,” she said. “ Rise, 
Ariel ! My love protect and guide thee. Go, if 


112 


IN POPPY LAND. 


thou must, but remember that Astra watches and 
waits for thy coming, and let the thought save 
thee and nerve thee to deeds of strength.” 

And the Prince stooped and kissed the hem of her 
garment, and turning, went down the little path 
that led from the cottage ; while Astra, with her 
soul in her eyes, stood watching, till presently the 
trees of the forest hid him from sight, and the 
Princess, with a little sigh, crossed the threshold 
of her home, and the first day of weary waiting 
had begun. 

And now the weeks rolled on, and the summer 
season had ended. Snow fell thick and fast, and 
the thatched roof of the cottage was hung with 
glittering icicles. Hob came to see Astra often, 
and while he crouched shivering on the hearth, for 
he hated the cold, and warmed his tiny hands at 
the blaze, he told her many things of what went 
on in the great city beyond, for he was a sad 
gossip. And so it was that the Princess learned 
that all her old friends and teachers had been either 
beheaded or exiled, and how a reign of terror had 
succeeded her father’s gentle rule. How terribly 
angry had been the King at her escape, and how, 
having searched vainly for her in every direction, 
the hunt had been at last abandoned. The Prince 
of the Goblins would chuckle gleefully to himself 
when he spoke of these things, and indeed, he was 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


lU 

never tired of relating how skilfully and well he 
had baffled the soldiers who had been sent out to 
find the hiding-place of the Princess, and bring 
her back in chains to the capital. 

One day, however. Hob came in as usual, but 
Astra noticed that he was far from cheerful. His 
comical little mouth was drawn down at the 
corners, and the very feather in his cap had lost its 
natural jaunty air and hung disconsolately over his 
shoulder. Neither were the best efforts of the 
Princess to entertain or amuse him, in the least suc- 
cessful. The Prince of the Goblins only sighed 
heavily, and at last Astra saw a tiny tear, so small 
as to be almost invisible, creep slowly down the 
good little Goblin’s face and fall to the floor. 

. And now Astra became alarmed, and after close 
questioning she discovered the sad truth. 

Ariel was in trouble. Hob had found it out 
accidentally from a brother gnome, and with Avide- 
open eyes and parted lips Astra listened to the 
sorroAvful tidings. The Prince had fallen into the 
hands of the wicked Cobrina, and had been 
changed by her into an eagle and carried away to 
the Serpent Queen’s abode. 

“ I shall save him,” said the Princess. 

“ Oh ! ” said Hob, and then he Avas silent, but 
only for a moment. Then such a volley of pro- 
test and argument came from his lips, that the 


114 


IN POPPY LAND. 


little man seemed to grow a full inch taller, and it 
was really wonderful to hear him. 

Astra listened patiently, but she remained firm, 
and at last the Prince of the Goblins, completely 
worn out by the contest, gave in reluctantly to her 
view of the case, and having done so, immediately 
brightened up, and then threw himself into plans 
for help with as much eagerness as he had before 
opposed them. 

And first,” said he, “ you must find out the 
direction of the palace of the Serpent Queen,” 
and rapping with his dagger hilt upon the floor, 
he summoned his followers and bade them look up 
all the old guide-books, and search carefully all 
the maps, and, after finding the place, to make a 
list of directions whereby the Princess might more 
easily find her way. 

“ Now that is done,” said Hob, “ I want to give 
you some good advice. Cobrina is very wicked 
and very powerful, but she has one weakness, and 
that is vanity. When you find entrance into her 
palace, seek some means of seeing her alone, and tell 
her when you have done so, that you have a gift for 
her. This will be a looking-glass which I shall 
give you, and its peculiarity is that any one who 
looks in it beholds their own image indeed, but 
only a thousand times more beautiful than they 
could have ever dreamed. 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


115 


“ Oh ! thank you, dear, kind Hob,” said Astra, 
her eyes sparkling. The little Prince sat up very 
erect. 

“ That is not all,” said he. “ I have likewise a 
pair of wings that were once sent to my great- 
great-grandfather by the Queen of the Fairies, and 
these too I will give you. Perchance they will help 
you in your journey, or perchance in your escape,” 
and, turning to one of his subjects, he told him to 
find and bring back with him both this last gift 
and the magic looking-glass also. This being done. 
Hob presented them with a low bow to Astra, and 
after giving her the plainest directions for finding 
the castle of the Serpent Queen, he bade her fare- 
well and good luck on her journeying, and said 
he, in parting, — 

“ Remember that Hob, Prince of Goblins, is ever 
your friend, and none will be so rejoiced as he 
to behold you safe at home and restored to your 
rightful throne ; ” and, kissing her hand in token of 
farewell, the little man fiew out of the latticed 
window, closely followed by his retainers, and 
Astra, with one last look on the little cottage where 
she had passed so many happy hours, fastened the 
magic wings on her shoulders, and rising lightly 
in the air by their means, fiew steadily along on the 
way marked out for her, in the direction of the 
palace of the Serpent Queen. 


116 


IN POPPY LAND. 


Meanwhile, we must go back to the Prince, who, 
changed by the enchanted stone into an eagle, 
pined all day long in the cage where he had been 
imprisoned by the wicked Cobrina, who came every 
morning to gloat over his misery. 

Of all his powers, Ariel retained only that of 
speech, and at first he used to implore the Queen 
to kill him, and thus put an end to his unhappy 
state ; but finding that this only amused his captor, 
the Prince relapsed into sullen silence, which 
neither the soft words nor the taunts of his jailer 
were able to break. All through the long, long 
hours when his cage was swinging from the top- 
most turret of the palace, the Prince thought of 
Astra; and the memory of her beautiful face, 
though it added to his sufferings, gave him new 
courage with which to bear his lot, and kept alive 
within him a lingering hope of escape. 

The palace itself was situated in the centre of a 
vast desert on which no green thing grew. Loath- 
some serpents sunned themselves on the blackened 
rocks and burning sands of the place. Within the 
palace itself all was sombre, dark, and gloomy, 
and festoons of green, slimy weeds hung from the 
pillars of the room where Cobrina held her court 
and where she spent the greater part of her time, 
sometimes entering into long discussions about 
revenues and taxes with her Treasurer, an aged 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


117 


Adder of no mean ability ; sometimes entertained 
by the graceful glidings and fantastic curvings of 
her famous Eel dancers ; at times soothed by the 
dull and monotonous but even conversation of her 
Lord Chancellor, a venerable Boa-Constrictor; or 
again lulled to rest by the music of her court- 
musicians, a world-renowned band of Rattle- 
snakes. 

But little did Ariel enjoy all this. He shud- 
dered at the approach of even the tiniest serpent, 
and hated and loathed his prison more heartily day 
b}^ day, the more so that release looked now so 
distant. 

At last one morning when he was sadly ponder- 
ing all these things, Cobrina appeared before him, 
and the Prince noticed that she was decked in all 
her most splendid robes, the serpent stone gleam- 
ing on her finger, and on her head the crown of 
golden snake-root which was the emblem of her 
power. But all this magnificence only served to 
make her look uglier and more repulsive than ever, 
and when she turned to Ariel with what was meant 
to be a most bewitching smile, the Prince felt him- 
self grow faint and cold all over, so hideous did 
she appear. 

“ Ariel,” said the Serpent Queen, “ I like you 
much, and I would fain restore you again to your 
proper shape. Not only that, but this, my hand. 


118 


IN POPPY LAND. 


I have also resolved to bestow upon you, and you 
shall reign with me and share my power, and my 
subjects shall feel and tremble at your frown, or 
bask in your smile, even unto the uttermost part 
of my dominions.” 

But the Prince, overcome with horror, was silent. 
Then Cobrina went on to assure him of her undy- 
ing affection, but when, at last, the Prince threw 
off, by a violent effort, the spell that seemed to be 
weaving about him, and told the Serpent Queen 
that, under no circumstances whatsoever, would he 
ever be hers, Cobrina’s rage was terrible indeed 
to behold. Finding her tongue at length, she show- 
ered all sorts of abuse upon him, and commanded 
her attendants to fling him into a loathsome dun- 
geon, “ until such time,” said the Serpent Queen, 
“ as you shall court the love and beg for the clem- 
ency, which, miserable wretch that you are, you 
have this moment refused.” 

Now Astra, while all these things were transpir- 
ing, had been steadily pressing nearer by unweary- 
ing though painful stages to her journey’s end, 
and it so happened that, disguised as a serving- 
wench, she reached the castle of the Serpent Queen, 
just as Cobrina, livid with fury and disappointment, 
was descending the palace steps. Seeing a stranger 
within her gates, Cobrina, glad to have so easy a 
chance of wreaking her anger upon some one. 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


119 


ordered the maid to be brought before her; and 
when Astra, with bowed head and downcast eyes, 
had been dragged by willing hands into Cobrina’s 
presence, the Queen demanded harshly what might 
be her business at that place, and told Astra that 
unless her answer proved to be fully satisfactory 
to the royal mind, a dreadful and immediate pun- 
ishment would be meted out to her for her presump- 
tion in thus intruding, uninvited, within the walls 
of the palace. 

“ May it please your Majesty,*’ said the Princess, 
fearlessly, though still with downcast eyes, “ I 
have heard that your Majesty needed a maid, and, 
having myself some experience in the tiring of royal 
ladies, I had hoped, perhaps vainly, to be admitted 
into your Majesty’s service.” 

Now at this Cobrina smiled, for she was very 
proud of her own appearance, and the idea of hav- 
ing some one, however humble in station, to wait 
upon and admire her, was a new idea and a very 
pleasing one. 

So she accepted the Princess’s offer graciously, 
and saying that she would at once make a trial of 
Astra’s ability as a maid, led the way to the royal 
apartments, the Princess following. 

And now Astra's heart beat high with hope at 
finding herself under the same roof, and within the 
very- same walls, as her much-loved Ariel, and 


120 


IN POPPY LAND. 


though the Serpent Queen filled her \yith disgust 
and repugnance, her great love made all things 
easy, and the most menial offices seemed as nothing, 
so long as they brought her nearer to the one 
object of her journeying. Patiently, therefore, she 
arrayed the coarse, black tresses of the hideous 
Serpent Queen, and in silence received the abuse 
lavished upon her. Nothing suited Cobrina, noth- 
ing was as it should be, but if she had been, if 
possible, ten times more trying, the Princess would 
have cheerfully borne it all, for there, on the Queen’s 
right hand, Astra noticed the dull gleam of the ser- 
pent stone, and the sight had filled her with new and 
enduring courage. At last, however, the task was 
finished, and Astra, drawing the magic mirror from 
her girdle, requested the Queen to look and behold 
the result of her handiwork. 

Cobrina glanced at the polished surface care- 
lessly, but in an instant her face changed, and she 
clutched the enchanted glass close in her fingers, 
while a dull red flush came into her sallow 
cheeks. 

“Wonderful! wonderful!” she said under her 
breath, for there, as Hob had foretold, the Serpent 
Queen beheld a strangely lovely image which, 
while bearing but a faint resemblance to her real 
self, seemed still to the Queen, to be her own true 
likeness. The minutes flew by, and still Cobrina 


PRINCESS AS TEA. 


121 


gazed fascinated into the magic mirror, but at last 
recollecting the presence of the Princess, she put 
down the glass with an effort, and said, turning 
carelessly to Astra, — 

“ You have done your work very well. We 
engage you to-day to wait upon our person. Go 
now and leave us. We will ring when we desire 
your presence,” and fingering the enchanted mirror 
impatiently she could hardly wait until the Prin- 
cess had left the room, so much did she desire to 
see again the reflection of what she never doubted 
to be her own image. 

“ Now the Prince must love me,” thought 
Cobrina to herself, and still holding the looking- 
glass, for she could not bear to lay it down, if only 
for an instant, she went to her chests of perfumed 
sandal-wood, and drawing out piece after piece of 
rare embroideries, webs of lace, richly-wrought 
scarfs and gem-studded robes, began feverishly to 
try them on to see what became her most, and at 
each trial her admiration of her own beauty in- 
creased, and she murmured to herself that Ariel 
could not, in the nature of things, be long in falling 
victim to her many charms. 

Meanwhile the Princess, released from duty for 
a few moments, lost no time in rapidly making the 
tour of the castle, and undeterred by the sight of 
the monsters and terrible serpents that at another 


122 


IN POPPY LAND. 


time would have caused her to faint in very terror, 
she ran quickly from room to room, peering into 
the darkest corners, lifting heavy draperies, shaking 
the tapestry with which the walls were covered, 
and even tapping with her fingers, the woodwork 
beneath as she passed, lest some hidden closet or 
secret chamber, which might perchance be Ariel’s 
prison, should escape her eager search. 

But before she had half finished her quest, she 
heard her name called, and forced to return to 
her hated duties, she found herself unable for the 
moment to pursue her search for the abiding-place 
of the unhappy Prince. 

And now Ariel’s lot was indeed a sad one, for 
Cobrina, convinced of her own loveliness, visited 
him daily, and beginning with affectionate words 
and greetings, would soon, on finding him obsti- 
nate and cold, shower upon him all sorts of ill 
treatment, which, in turn, being repented of, 
would be succeeded by a tenderness yet harder to 
bear. 

Late one day, however, when musing sadly upon 
all these things, the Prince heard the notes of a 
song that the Princess used to sing to him when 
together they walked in the rose garden of the 
cottage, and for a moment his heart almost ceased 
beating, for some inward feeling told him that 
Astra was near at hand. 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


123 


Soft and low came the music, — 

“ Love, dear love, remember 

The past with its golden hours. 

And ne’er, dear heart, surrender 
The joy that has onee been ours. 

Smiles shine forth through tears, dear, 

As roses dipped in dew; 

Dispel all idle fears, dear. 

My heart will e’er be true.” 

The Prince listened attentively, and then in a 
low voice he sang the answering verse, — 

“ Darling, all doubt like mist, dear, 

Thy presence sweet dispels. 

And lips that 1 have kissed, dear, 

Fidelity impels. 

Believe me, sweet, thy lover, , 

Through sunshine and through rain, 
Defying Time’s endeavor. 

Remaining e’er the same.” 

In an instant the door of his cell was thrown 
open, and Astra, with her finger to her lips, in 
token of silence, appeared. “Look,” she whis- 
pered, and raising her hand, Ariel beheld on her 
finger the serpent stone, and the next moment the 
Prince, restored to his natural shape by its means, 
was kneeling at her feet. Withdrawing hastily, 
she motioned him to follow. 


124 


IN POPPY LAND. 


“ Cobrina is asleep,” said Astra, “ but she may 
awake at any instant and discover her loss,” and 
indeed at that instant was heard overhead the 
sound of angry voices and hurrying feet. 

Fly I ” cried Astra, beside herself with terror, 
and, hand in hand, they darted down the long cor- 
ridor that nOw re-echoed with the sounds of fright 
and tumult about them. ‘"Here,” said the Prin- 
cess, “is a secret door;” and, touching a hidden 
spring, part of the solid wall slipped back, leaving 
an opening just large enough to pass through, and 
leading directly out upon the desert on which the 
palace stood. But hardly had they passed from 
shelter into the open when they were perceived by 
the Serpent Queen and her followers, and with a 
cry of i.*age, so terrible that it froze the blood in 
the Princess’s veins, Cobrina, mounted upon a 
winged dragon, started in pursuit. 

On and on went the Prince and the Princess, 
flying in hot haste from the vengeance of the Ser- 
pent Queen. But alas ! the shifting sands impeded 
their running feet, the sun blazed down mercilessly 
upon them, and at last Astra felt her strength 
giving way, and, sinking helpless upon her knees, 
she besought the Prince to leave her to her fate. 

“ Never ! ” said Ariel, “ rather, far rather death 
with thee than life without thee I ” 

“ The stone,” said x\stra faintly, and the Prince, 


PRINCESS ASTRA. 


125 


with a cry of delight, seemed to see a way of 
escape opening before them; but, to his horror, the 
hand of the Princess was bare. The serpent stone 
had disappeared. In their mad flight the ring 
had slipped from Astra’s Anger, and now, indeed, 
all hope seemed over. 

On came Cobrina ; so near was she now that the 
flery breath of her winged dragon smote their faces, 
and its gigantic body, poised above them, shut out 
like a dark cloud the sunlight. 

* “ Take the magic wings,” said Astra, hurriedly 
fastening them on Ariel’s shoulders, “ and fly ! 
They will bear thee safe and Avell from danger. 
Go, beloved. Leave me, I beseech you ! ” 

With a wicked cry of delight, Cobrina com- 
manded her dragon to alight. Down it came. 
The Prince never stirred. Suddenly, he threw 
himself in front of the Princess to shield her, if 
only for a moment, from the rage of the cruel 
Queen. 

“Die!” said Cobrina in a terrible voice, her 
eyes blazing with fury, her hand raised to strike ; 
but at that instant a faint greenish flicker of light 
caught Ariel’s eye, and there, caught in the meshes 
of Astra’s girdle, hung the ring with its magic 
stone. 

Cobrina saw it at the same instant, and stooped 
to snatch it from its hiding-place, but the Prince was 


126 


IN POPPY LAND. 


too quick for her. Seizing it in one hand, while 
with the other he supported the fainting Princess, 
he held the ring aloft and called in a loud voice, — 

“Wicked monster, be changed to stone ! ” 

In an instant, the features of the Serpent Queen, , 
with their same fearful expression of rage and 
hatred, stiffened, her limbs grew heavy, and, in 
another moment, Cobrina sank, a hideous statue, 
upon the sands of the desert, and so dreadful to 
look upon was she, that Astra hid her face in her 
hands, and the wicked followers of the Serpent 
Queen turned in terror and confusion to fly in 
every direction. 

“ Saved I ” said the Prince, and, lifting the Prin- 
cess in his arms, he bore her from the spot, till at 
last the color began to come back to her beautiful 
face and she opened her eyes. 

Then, hand in hand, they proceeded on their 
way, reaching the edge of the desert by nightfall, 
and, turning back for one last look, they saw in the 
distance, rising black and frowning, the palace of 
the Serpent Queen, who, frozen into stone, stood 
still with uplifted hand where they had left her, 
the last rays of the setting sun playing about her 
head, so that in the shifting light the crown of 
snakeroot seemed made of living serpents, while 
the lips, forever dumb, seemed to move in impotent 
malediction. 


PIUNCESS ASTRA. 127 

“ Come ! ” said Astra shuddering, and in silence 
they resumed their journey. 

But now, indeed, all was changed from sorrow 
into joy. The very heart of nature seemed awake. 
The brooks rippled with laughter, the birds sang 
love songs only; even the leaves on the trees of 
the forest through which they passed danced in 
the summer wind, and gradually the memory of 
their former misery passed gently away, and the 
very people whom they encountered on their home- 
ward way turned back to catch another glimpse of 
the pair on whose forehead Happiness had so 
plainly set her seal. 

On and on they went, till at length the scene 
began to grow familiar, and old landmarks met 
their gaze, and at last one evening they beheld 
before them the walls of the city that Astra knew 
to be her own, and here they paused. 

“ Let us enter boldly,” said the Prince, and 
clasping the magic ring to her heart, the Princess 
assented. 

Hand in hand, therefore, they approached the 
city gate, and as they neared it, they heard a great 
commotion, as of many voices, and entering, be- 
held a vast throng of people, most of whom were 
armed, and some of whom carried banners on 
which, in letters of gold, Astra read, to her great 
astonishment, her own name. 


128 


IN POPPY LAND. 


Mingling in the crowd she learned that the 
Tyrant King had been deposed in her absence, 
and that this was a search party which had been 
organized, and which was about to set forth in the 
hope of finding their lost Princess and offering her 
the crown. 

Wrapping her mantle therefore tightly about 
her, with bowled head Astra glided through the 
throng, tlie Prince following, and all unobserved 
in the general excitement, until at last she reached 
an open space in the very centre of the people, 
where stood a marble platform, from whence it liad 
been the custom of the King, in former times, to 
address the people. 

Slipping, still unnoticed, up the broad steps, she 
suddenly appeared in their midst, and, throwing 
back her veil, showed to the astonished multitude 
the very person for whom they had been about to 
seek. 

Loud shouts of applause greeted her coming, 
and acclamations of delight and welcome. 

“ Long live our Princess ! Long live Astra our 
rightful Queen ! ” they shouted, and when there 
was again silence, the Princess made them a little 
speech in which, after thanking them for their loy- 
alty, she assured them of her protection, promised 
a free pardon to all, and then, taking Ariel by the 
hand, showed to the multitude their future King. 


PRINCESS - 


129 


Instantly the shouts of welcome were redoubled, 
and, a chariot with four white horses appearing, 
the grateful people conducted the royal pair in 
state to their palace. 

Here the wedding took place, and a more mag- 
nihcent festivity had never before been seen. But 
when the speech- making and banqueting were 
over, and Astra was for the first time alone with 
her husband, she drew from her bosom the serpent 
stone, and casting it into the fire that blazed on 
the hearth, said to Ariel, — 

“ Thus do I throw away that for which I have no 
longer any need. For thy love is my protection, 
and with thee am I not afraid.” 

And thus happily their troubles ended, and to- 
gether they ruled the kingdom wisely, indeed, and 
well. Only when the cares of state pressed too 
heavily, Ariel and Astra would retire for a time 
to the little rose-covered cottage, rich with so 
many happy memories, and there Hob, Prince of 
Goblins, their tried and trusty friend, would often 
find them, by day to gossip and chat in a fashion 
all his own, as of yore, but in the evening to watch 
quietly and secretly from some hidden corner the 
twain who, with such happiness shining from their 
faces, walked up and down the garden path till the 
stars shone forth in the blue sky overhead and the 
lady moon came out from behind the clouds. 


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THE LAST OF THE DRYADS. 









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1 




THE LAST OF THE DRYADS. 


There was once a Dryad who was very beauti- 
ful, having hair the color of leaves turned golden 
by the frosts of autumn ; eyes, now soft, now 
brilliant, as is the sunshine that falls through 
summer foliage ; a skin white as the snow encum- 
J^^ng the tree branches in winter ; and a heart as 
^ fsome as the topmost blossom that dances all 
ong, and is blown to and fro, now here, now 
Uicxc, by the baby zephyrs of the gentle spring. 

The Dryad had but one sorrow, and that was 
the great loneliness of her lot. Companions, it is 
true, she had plenty, in the birds and animals of the 
forest, and in the flowers that blossomed on every 
side, but what she yearned for was a friend, a being 
with a human soul, to whom she might tell her 
troubles and confide her joys. Whenever this 
thought crossed the Dryad’s mind, she sighed, for 
she knew that she was the last of her race, and it 
was little likely that such a being would be found 
mid the leafy depths of her woodland home to 
divine and still and satisfy her longings. 


134 


IN POPPY LAND. 


One day, however, when the Dryad was sadly 
thinking of all these things, she heard, not far away, 
a liquid sound of music, whose notes fell like drop- 
ping pearls upon the listening air. Cautiously the 
Dryad peeped forth from among the branches of 
the oak tree, where she lived, and there, seated on 
a grassy knoll, she saw a Shepherd who, all uncon- 
scious of her presence, sat piping on a flute of 
reeds which hung suspended from his neck by a 
blue ribbon. 

Now this surprised the Dryad very much, for 
never in all her life before had she seen a man, but 
she thought the youth very handsome, and she felt 
all at once that the sap which ran in her veins in- 
stead of blood, was being strangely stirred, and 
though she did not remember ever having been 
frightened at anything before in her life, a strange 
timidity now closed her lips and kept her trem- 
bling and silent. 

Suddenly, however, the youth looked up, and 
seeing the beautiful face smiling down upon him, 
and framed in the leaves of the oak tree, it was 
his turn to be very much astonished ; but, perhaps 
because he had seen beautiful faces before, he was 
not in the lea,st afraid, and began at, once a conver- 
sation with this lovely stranger. 

First he apologized for having disturbed her 
solitude with his music, and to this the Dryad re- 


THE LAST OF THE DRYADS. 


135 


plied so graciously, that before either quite knew 
it, their talk flowed along so smoothly, and they 
had become such good fiaends, that the Shepherd 
asked her to take a little stroll with him in the 
wood, and the Dryad had assented. Laying her 
little white hand, therefore, in her companion’s 
strong brown one, she swung herself down from 
her airy seat as daintily and as lightl}^ as a dande- 
lion puff blown by the wind, and the Shepherd 
saw that she was dressed all in green with a crown 
of oak leaves and acorns on her head ; and so 
beautiful was she, with her golden hair falling 
about her like a mantle, and her glorious eyes like 
stars beaming upon him, that his very heart 
seemed melting within him, and, throwing himself 
at her feet, the Shepherd besought her to accept his 
love. 

Now the Dryad was troubled and did not know 
quite what to say ; but the youth, continuing to 
urge his suit, she at length told him to rise, and, 
seating herself beside him on a mossy tree-trunk, 
related to him her story. 

“ Know,” said she, “ that I am a Diyad, and the 
last of all my race. Ever since I can remember, I 
have lived in yonder oak, tending it carefully, 
watching each tiny bud and leaflet, guarding them 
from the rude blasts of winter, and from the torrid 
heat of summer, protecting and cherishing always, 


136 


IN POPPY LAND. 


for as the tree lives, so live I, and when death over- 
takes it, I also must perish. When the sap begins 
to flow in the early spring, then flow new strength 
and vigor into my veins ; all summer I laugh and 
sing, and am glad through all my being, but winter 
brings me rest and slumber.” She turned blushing 
towards him. “ Therefore, thou seest,” said she 
shyly, “ that I am not as other maidens.” 

‘‘Fair lady,” replied the Shepherd, “I care not. 
I know only that I love thee. Be thou mortal or 
Dryad, I am content. Tell me but how I may win 
thy heart and teach thee to leave thy forest dwell- 
ing place.” 

But at this the Dryad hung her head. 

“ Rash youth,” said she, “ thou knowest not 
what thou wouldst ask. Pan, god of the wood- 
lands, is my master, and without his permission I 
may never depart from this spot. His home is far 
from here, and the way thick beset with dangers. 
Moreover, Pan himself loveth not mortals.” 

“ I care not,” interrupted the Shepherd valiantly. 
“ Be only true to me, and then, come what will, I 
shall gain thy freedom.” He knelt and kissed 
her hand. 

“And now farewell, sweet Dryad,” said he. 
“ Remain by thine oak and wait my coming. I 
now set forth on my journey to Pan’s dwelling- 
place ; ” and, despite the Dryad’s prayers and 


THE LAST OF THE HRYADS. 


137 


entreaties, with one last look the youth was 
gone. 

For many moons the Shepherd travelled through 
hamlets and villages and over dusty highroads, 
eating and drinking where and when he could, 
but always keeping a light heart in his breast, 
and often beguiling the way by playing tuneful 
melodies upon his rustic pipe. After journeying, 
therefore, for a long time in this fashion, he at 
length beheld in the distance a great forest, in the 
very centre of which Pan held his court, and 
by nightfall reached it. Pushing bravely along 
through the thick underbrush he went, until sud- 
denl}^ a peal of elfin laughter smote his ear, and 
there, right before him in his path, he beheld two 
wood-creatures, all dressed in green, who, with 
spears and bulrushes, barred the way. 

“ Who art thou, and why comest thou hither ? ” 
demanded the first, taking off his high peaked hat, 
decorated with a single white oavI’s feather, and 
boAving loAv in mockery to the stranger. 

“ I am a Shepherd,” ansAvered the youth promptly, 
“ and I come to claim an audience of Pan, your 
master.” 

At this the two little Avoodmen shook all over 
Avith merriment, but, lowering their bulrushes, the 
other, Avho had not spoken, bleAV a loud blast on 


138 


IN POPPY LAND. 


the horn that hung by his side, and in another 
moment, in answer to the summons, a tall and 
beautiful forest nymph appeared, who beckoned 
to the Shepherd to follow her, and told him, in a 
musical voice, that sounded, however, like the 
wind that plays through reeds growing by the 
brookside, that she would conduct him to her 
master. 

To this the Shepherd joyfully assented, and as 
they wound their way through the forest, the 
nymph, at first silent, at length turned to him and 
spoke. 

“What may be the errand, fair youth,” asked 
she, “ that brings thee so far and among so many 
dangers?” and the Shepherd, encouraged by her 
kind face and gentle smile, told her all about the 
Dryad and the whole story of his travels. 

The nymph listened attentively, but when he 
had finished, her face was sad. 

“ I would that I might aid thee,” she said, “ but I, 
alas, am powerless as thyself. Let me but tell thee 
one thing. If thou canst contrive to please my 
master, thou maj^st ask what thou wilt, and he 
will give it thee, but if thou fail’st to charm him 
thou wilt not alone gain nothing, but thou shalt 
also be forced to remain forever a slave within this 
woodland. But look ! Yonder he holds his court, 
and here, also, I must leave thee. But courage ! 


THE LAST OF THE DRYADS. * 


139 


Press forward, and success now be thy guide ; ” 
and, with a farewell wave of her hand, the nymph 
vanished, and the Shepherd, turning, saw before him, 
at some little distance off, a noisy group of satyrs, 
wood-creatures, half-man and half-goat, who, laugh- 
ing and shouting, were dancing in a circle round a 
rustic throne that, raised a little from the ground, 
was set within their midst. 

Advancing towards it came the youth ; but when 
he reached the place, and the satyrs had perceived 
him, they suddenty stopped their wild gambols, 
and became silent, regarding him curiously. 
Straight towards them, however, Avalked the Shep- 
herd, and, as he approached, they drew aside to 
let him pass, and in a moment the youth found 
himself standing at the foot of the very throne of 
Pan himself. 

From the waist down the god of the woodlands, 
like his subjects round him, was a goat, but the 
upper part of his body was that of a man, save 
that from his head grew two horns which were now 
ornamented with a garland of pine leaves. In 
his hand he held a pipe of reeds, and by his side 
rested a heavy knotted club, the sceptre and 
symbol of power. 

Pan scowled at the bold stranger, and the satyrs 
crowded around; but unmoved, with brave yet 
courteous bearing, the Shepherd waited. 


140 


IN POPPY LAND. 


“ Who art thou, and what thy errand ? ” asked 
Pan at length in a harsh voice, and then the Shep- 
herd, falling respectfully on one knee before the 
throne, told his story. He related how, while 
playing on his flute, he had looked up, and beheld, 
for the first time, the lovely Dryad, who, with her 
golden hair, and her beautiful eyes, and musical 
voice, had charmed him ; and how, leaving his 
heart in her keeping, he had come even this weary 
way to Pan to relate all that had befallen him, and 
to beg for liberty and permission to leave her oak 
for the fair lady of his love and choice. 

Silently Pan listened, and when the youth had 
quite finished he raised his head. 

“ Truly, thy tale is a strange one,” said he, “ but 
stay ; by thy side hangs yet the flute of which 
thou hast spoken. Put it to thy lips. Should 
the music pleasure me and these my followers, I 
will consider with favor thy request ; but make but 
one false note with thy piping, and forever dost 
thou remain within these glades — a slave.” This 
speech was loudly applauded by the satyrs round 
about, who, as trembling the shepherd obeyed the 
wood-god’s command, gathered yet closer to listen. 

And now the Shepherd thought of the lovely 
Dryad, whose fate hung trembling in the balance, 
and his soul was moved within him ; and putting 
the flute to his mouth he played upon it as he had 


THE LAST OF THE BUY ADS. 


141 


never done before. Sweeter than dropping honey- 
comb came the music, now soft as the brook that 
through reeds and over silvery pebble babbles all 
day long, now clear as the song of the thrush or. 
the nightingale, now sad as the summer wind that 
sighs mid the grasses, or lightly sweeps- the strings 
of the seolian harp. Entranced and motionless the 
forest creatures listened, and when the last note 
had ceased, for a moment there was silence. The 
next. Pan, leaping down from his raised seat in 
their midst, took from his own head the garland of 
pine leaves that crowned it, and, placing it upon 
the brow of the Shepherd, hailed him as Prince 
among musicians. 

“Well hast thou played, fair youth,” said he, 
“ and I do now engage thee in my service ; for a 
year and a day thou must remain within this wood 
and pipe at my bidding ; but at the end of. that 
time I will give thee wealth such as thou hast not 
dreamed, and back shalt thou go to thy Dryad, 
whom I from this moment do, at thy request, 
declare free. In the mean time rest faithful and 
contented.” 

Saying which Pan arose, and, followed by the 
whole horde of satyrs and wood-men, left the place, 
and the Shepherd found himself alone. 

i\Iean while, the Dryad, left in solitude, watched 
and longed for her lover’s coming; but as the days 


142 


IN POPPY LAND. 


went by without any sign from him, her heart 
grew sorrowful, and her eyes heavy with weeping. 
At length, however, one morning as she was com- 
ing from her oak for a little stroll in the forest, 
she beheld, through the foliage of some bushes 
near at hand, an ugly monster, half man and half 
goat, that was crouched there watching her. At 
first the sap in her veins almost froze with terror, 
but soon the thought struck her that this wood- 
creature, however hideous, must be one of Pan’s 
subjects, and so might perhaps be able to tell her 
something of her lost Shepherd. Advancing, there- 
fore, towards him, she requested him to come forth, 
and, in a trembling voice, described to him the 
Shepherd, and besought him to tell her if he knew 
aught of such a person. 

With an ugly smile that was meant to be fasci- 
nating, the satyr obeyed, and, approaching, he told 
the Dryad that he had indeed seen such a youth, 
and had even been present Avhen the stranger had 
been brought befoi’e Pan himself. 

“Then, good, kind creature, tell me, I beseech 
thee,” said the Dryad, “how fared he, and why 
doth he not return ? ” 

“ Alas ! ” said the satyr, assuming an air of grief, 
“ thou shaft never see him more, for Pan, angry at 
his intrusion into the forest, hath made him forever 
a slave.” 


THE LAST OF THE DRYADS. 


143 


On hearing these cruel words the poor Dryad 
uttered a cry so pitiful that the very rocks about 
were moved, and she turned so white that the very 
birds would fain have helped her in her distress. 
Only the hideous satyr remained untroubled by 
her sorrow, for he had made up his mind to win 
the Dryad for himself, and even, if necessary, to 
'carry her off by force to his own home within the 
depths of the wood-god’s forest. 

He wished, however, to try fair means first, so 
with gentle words he endeavored to soothe the 
Dryad till she was forced to beg him to leave her, 
and, overcome with grief, retired to her oak-tree. 
Nevertheless, from that day forth, the satyr ceased 
not his persecutions and his visits till the poor Dryad 
knew not which way to turn. 

Faithful still to her Shepherd, though she believed 
him forever lost, she would listen to no word of 
love from the monster that persecuted her. Indeed 
the ngly satyr inspired her only with horror and 
aversion ; but, undeterred by her words of scorn, he 
still sought her daily, and, with renewed entreaties, 
mingled now with threats, made her still more 
and more unhappy and distressed. 

A year and a day passed in this manner, and 
at length the satyr, fearing the Shepherd’s return, 
and maddened by the Dryad’s cold disdain, decided 
to bear her away by force. 


144 


IN POPPY LAND. 


The Shepherd, meanwhile, remained helpless 
within the forest and in the service of Pan. Every 
night he piped for the wild creatures who danced 
and gambolled and capered uncouthly around him ; 
by day he was free to follow his own fancies, and 
this time he spent in wandering about the forest, 
and seeking its boundaries and some way of escape, 
but always in vain. 

But though the hours sped slowly, pass never- 
theless they did, and at length the day of freedom 
dawned ; and, after a final audience with Pan, who 
presented him with a bag filled to the brim Avith 
precious stones, and a moss-green cloak of some 
Avonderful texture and more beautiful than the 
Shepherd had ever seen, he at last Avas alloAved to 
depart, and, laden Avith treasure, started jojTully 
homcAvard. 

W eary and Avorn Avith travel, he at length 
reached the forest, the dAvelling-place of his beauti- 
ful Dryad; and hurriedly pressing through the 
underbrush and shrubbery he came, his heart bound- 
ing high Avith hope, and soon perceived through 
the trees the grassy knoll and the sturdy oak that 
formed the Dryad’s home. Quickening his steps 
he plunged oiiAvard ; but hardly had he done so Avhen 
a faint cry smote upon his ear, and, tearing aside 
the intervening foliage, he beheld a sight that for 
the moment deprived him of both speech and 


THE LAST OF THE DRYADS. 145 

motion, for there, beneath his very eyes, he saw 
his beloved Dryad, struggling in the grasp of a 
hideous satyr, that with brutal violence was drag- 
ging her away. 

For an instant only did the. Shepherd stand in 
horror-struck silence ; the next he had leaped across 
the open space and had seized the monster by the 
throat. 

And then, in the very centre of the peaceful 
greenwood, a fearful struggle took place between 
the Shepherd, strong in his defence of the lady he 
loved, and the satyr, powerful with baffled rage, 
while the Dryad stood trembling and wringing her 
hands. 

This way and that they swayed, and the grass lay 
trampled beneath their feet, and the tender green 
leaves about them fell torn and dying, till at length, 
with a mighty effort, the satyr wrenched himself 
free, and, drawing the woodman’s axe that hung 
from his girdle, smote the Dryad’s oak-tree a fearful 
blow, and with a horrible laugh of triumph turned 
to fly. But in vain, for hardly had he done so, 
when the Shepherd rushed forward, and the next 
moment the ugly satyr lay prone and lifeless upon 
the ground. But alas ! the victory came too late, 
for when the Shepherd turned from his fallen 
enemy to clasp the Dryad in his arms, he found 
her leaningf white and motionless against the trunk 

O O 


146 


IN POPPY LAND. 


of the smitten tree. And then, suddenly, the 
truth flashed upon him : the satyr’s last revengeful 
blow, whose deadly aim had reached the oak-tree’s 
heart, was as fatal to the Dryad as if, instead, a 
knife had pierced her own. For now he remem- 
bered her words : — 

“ As the tree lives, so live I, and when it dies, I 
also must perish.” 

Every tiny rivulet of sap, therefore, that trickled 
down the knotted trunk of the once sturdy oak, 
was draining away the precious life fluid from the 
Dryad’s veins. The tree had received its death- 
bloAV, and so, unhappy fate ! had she. 

With a cry of anguish the Shepherd knelt beside 
her, and as she lay mute and passive within his amis, 
her beautiful head pillowed upon his breast and 
her golden hair falling like a veil about him, his 
very heart seemed breaking. 

Was this then to be the end of all his love and 
labor? But no! Surely some kind spirit would 
help him, and even as the thought crossed his 
mind, he saw poised lightly above him, on a willow- 
bough, a tiny fairy, not much bigger than a dragon- 
fly, that glittered and gleamed in the noonday sun 
and regarded him curiously from his airy perch. 

“ I behold thy trouble and pity thee,” said the 
fay, in a voice so small tliat the summer zephyr 
almost carried the words away. “ I was watching 


THE LAST OF THE DRYADS. 


147 


whilst thou fought with the monster, and I saw 
that thou didst well and bravely. ’Twas a foul 
blow that smote thy Dryad. Tell me, wouldst 
have me guide thee to our Queen? Perchance, 
were she so minded, she might aid thee.” 

“ Oh, most willingly,” cried the Shepherd ; but 
just then his eyes rested on the Dryad, and he 
hung his head. 

“ How can I leave her ? ” he said. 

“ Easily,” answered the fairy cheerily. “ Have 
courage, I will arrange all,” and spreading two 
wings of azure and opal the little creature flew 
downward, and with his tiny finger drew a circle 
round the place. 

“ Come,” said he, “ in thine absence none can 
enter within this magic ring,” and, stooping, he 
breathed upon the Dryad’s face, “ neither shall 
she awaken till thy return. Fear not, she rests 
safe and well. It remains now with thee to so 
pleasure our Queen that she grant thee thy request. 
If that may be I know not. But at least I will 
guide thee to her presence, for thou art a valiant 
youth, and I like thee much.” 

So saying, with an air of great importance, the 
fairy again spread his wings, and beckoning to the 
youth, darted away through the leaves ; and with 
one last look upon the face of her whom he loved, 
the Shepherd followed. 


148 


IN POPPY LAND. 


On and on they went, through the forest that 
grew thicker and thicker as they advanced, till at 
length they reached a massive stone, that, curiously 
carven with mystic signs and figures, blocked the 
way. 

On this the tiny fairy rapped three times, when, 
to the Shepherd’s great astonishment, the rock 
slowly sank, leaving exposed to view a long flight 
of steps that descended until lost to sight amid 
the dark recesses of the earth. 

Down this underground way the fairy flitted, 
and the Shepherd bravely followed. Deeper and 
deeper, — until, all at once, with a sudden turn, 
the journey ended, and a flood of sunshine showed 
them to be on solid earth again, while before them 
rose a barred gate of purest gold. This, too, open- 
ing to the fairy’s summons, the Shepherd entered 
and beheld himself in fairyland. 

On either side of the path where they now 
walked, tall white lilies waved to and fro in the 
fragrance-laden breeze, cool fountains splashed 
musically in silver basins, and the smooth green 
turf was dotted thick with diamond drops of dew. 

Little fairies, some riding swiftly hither and 
thither on gorgeous butterflies, while some cush- 
ioned in the hearts of roses, and some swinging 
from vine-leaves, met the eye on every side ; but 
the Shepherd and his tiny guide went steadily 


THE LAST OF THE DRYADS. 


149 


onward until they came to a turn in the road, 
where the fairy, motioning the Shepherd to await 
him, flew straight to a bower covered with colum- 
bine, and, taking a little horn from his side, blew 
a shrill blast. 

Immediately a door of mother-of-pearl, hidden 
before by the flowers about, opened, and a fairy, 
much larger than those the Shepherd had yet seen, 
appeared. 

She was dressed all in palest lilac, shot with 
violet, and her wings were tipped with silver. In 
her hair shone a diamond star, and she smiled 
kindly upon the little sprite before her. 

“ So art returned, Golightly,” said she ; and 
then perceiving the Shepherd, “but whom have 
we here ? ” 

“ This, your Grace,” answered the little fairy 
promptly, and making a profound bow, “ is a mor- 
tal whom I found in dire distress because a satyr 
had smitten the oak where dwelt a Dryad whom 
he loved, thus wounding her, I fear me, fatally. 
When I beheld him thus overcome with sorrow, I 
could not forbear to offer him my guidance to 
fairyland, that he miglit lay his case before our 
Queen and obtain, perchance, her powerful assist- 
ance.” 

But at this the fairy’s face clouded. 

“ I fear,” said she, “ that' thou comest on a fruit- 


150 


IN POPPY LAND. 


less errand, for the Queen, our mistress, is, I can 
promise thee, in no gentle mood to-day. This 
evening, as thou must know, the King of the 
Gnomes is coming to pay a visit to our court. 
When the news arrived, I was doing the Queen’s 
hair after the most approved manner, and follow- 
ing the latest fashion-plate ; but from that moment 
nothing seemed to suit Her Majesty. She called 
me awkward, threatened to dismiss me, who have 
served her for years as Head Waiting Maid, ban- 
ished the Royal Vinaigrette Holder, threw the 
crown jewels in the very face of the Prime Min- 
ister himself, and at length ordered all the Ladies 
of the Wardrobe to display for her selection every 
one of the royal dresses. 

“ And then, my dear Golightly, if you will be- 
lieve it, not one of these would do, and finally a 
gown had to be ordered, and only three hours to 
cut and fit and finish it. However, it was done, 
and most fortunately, it pleased Her Majesty, and 
we all breathed freely, when all at once the 
Queen, who had been admiring herself in the mir- 
ror, threw down the glass. 

“ ‘ Where is the cloak to go with this costume ? ’ 
she asked. ‘ I receive the King of the Gnomes at 
the entrance of my dominions, as you all know. 
Where, then, is the mantle that I should wear ? ’ 

“You can imagine the fright we were all in. 


THE LAST OF THE DRYADS. 


151 


A herald was sent as fast as possible to all the 
cloakmakers of fairyland, but when he returned, 
things were worse than ever. A beautiful gar- 
ment of peacocks’ feathers, a sweet thing in yel- 
low butterflies’ wings, and the dearest mantle of 
rose-colored ostrich plumes, were alike thrown 
aside by Her Majesty, and when, at last, a simply 
lovely cloak of silken tissue wrought with seed- 
pearls was brought for the royal inspection. Her 
Majesty wouldn’t even look at it. So there the 
matter rests. The Queen is so angry ; but no one 
knows what to do next, and so you see, Golightly, 
it would be worse than useless to try to obtain an 
audience now.” 

“ That is true,” said the little fairy, and he hung 
his head ; but the face of the Shepherd, who had 
been listening intently, suddenly brightened, and, 
hastily drawing from his shoulders the mantle that 
Pan had given him, heTield it out for the Head 
Waiting Maid’s inspection. The soft green folds 
shimmered and shone in the sunlight, and the 
golden dragons with emerald eyes that formed the 
clasp seemed almost alive, so true was the carv- 
ing ; the embroidery, curiously wrought in gold 
thread, was set thick with jewels, and the lining of 
humming-birds’ breasts glinted and gleamed with 
a thousand hues. 

“ Beautiful ! ” said the two fairies in one breath ; 


152 


IN POPPY LAND. 


and then the Queen’s Waiting Maid touched it 
gently with her finger. 

“ There is nothing like it in all fairyland,” she 
said. “How was it that I did not at first ob- 
serve it? And how gracefully it will hang from 
Her Majesty’s shoulders over her gown of silver 
tissue. Come at once, we will seek the royal pres- 
ence,” and spreading her wings, she flew straight 
before them, the Shepherd and his fairy guide 
following. 

Before them stretched a beautiful lawn of velvet 
turf, but having traversed this, and having passed 
some outlying trees, the Shepherd found himself 
in a garden, the like of which he had never seen. 
In the distance gleamed a canopy of a tent of 
white satin, fastened to the ground by golden 
stakes, and this, the Queen’s Waiting Maid told 
him, was the royal pavilion itself. 

Going a few steps further, they were met by 
twelve men-at-arms, in crimson and white, who, 
with shining lances, barred the way. At a sign 
from the fairy, however, these drew aside, saluting 
as they did so, and making a path through which 
the Shepherd, his friend the tiny sprite, and the 
Lady in Waiting were allowed to pass. A little 
further, and a body of the Queen’s archers in 
green and gold blocked the way ; but these also, 
recognizing the Lady in Waiting, fell respectfully 


THE LAST OF THE DRYADS. 


153 


aside. They were now within a few minutes’ walk 
of Her Majesty’s tent, at the entrance of which, 
having passed the royal body-guard habited in 
orange and black, and having been pelted with 
acorns by a band of mischievous pages, they now 
paused. 

Pushing aside the hanging curtain, the Lady in 
Waiting entered, and the Shepherd found himself. 
Pan’s cloak upon his arm, in the very presence of 
the Queen of all the Fairies. 

Reclining on silken pillows of rose-leaf hue. Her 
Majesty lay, and so beautiful was she, that the 
Shepherd stood entranced and motionless. A fillet 
of diamonds bound her nut-brown hair, and she 
wore a robe of silver tissue that seemed woven 
with moonbeams ; about her waist w^as a jewelled 
girdle, and the strap of the one tiny sandal that 
showed, was sewn thick with the same precious 
gems that gleamed from the royal brow. 

Two fan-bearers stood* at either side, and a slave 
crouched near at hand with the royal vinaigrette. 
As the curtain that shielded the entrance of the 
Queen’s tent fell back into place. Her Majesty 
looked up languidly, and, raising her lorgnette, 
surveyed the little group, but her glance rested 
longer upon the Shepherd than upon the other 
two. 

“ iVh, Lilaca,” said she, indicating the stranger 


154 


IN POPPY LAND. 


with a wave of her little hand, “who is this 
person ? ” 

“ He is one who ventures to bear your Majesty 
a slight token of his faith and allegiance,” said the 
Shepherd, answering for himself ; and advancing, 
he knelt before the throne, and displayed the 
mantle which he held. Immediately on beholding 
it, the Queen’s face changed. 

“Wonderful!” cried she, clapping her hands. 
“ The very thing ! Quick ! a pier-glass, that I may 
see the effect ! ” and, throwing the mantle about 
her shoulders, she surveyed the image pictured 
there in silent contentment for some time. Then 
she spoke : — 

“ There is no doubt about it,” she said de- 
cidedly, “ it is a beautiful mantle, and very be- 
coming.” 

“Yes, indeed, your Majesty. Your Majesty 
speaks truly ! ” cried all the courtiers in a breath. 

“ Lilaca,” said the Queen graciously, “ you have 
done well. YOu are not nearly so stupid as I had 
thought. Receive my royal forgiveness ; you shall 
have all my cast-off dresses ; ” and then, turning, 
“ But who is this little fairy ? ” 

“ May it please you,” answered the sprite, in a 
very small voice, “ I am Golightly, and I found the 
Shepherd.” 

“Indeed!” said the Queen. “Then, Golightly, 


THE LAST OF THE DETADS. 


155 


you shall be knighted,” and calling for her wand, 
she extended it above the little fairy’s head. 

“ Grow to a suitable size,” said she, and when 
he had shot up several feet, she tapped him lightly 
on the shoulder. 

“ Rise, Lord Golightly,” continued Her Majesty. 
“ We appoint you, in testimony of our affection 
and in reward for your good conduct. First Knight 
of the Garter and Perpetual Keeper of the Royal 
Shoe Buckle;” and while, overcome with joy, the 
new-made lord murmured his thanks, the Queen 
turned towards the Shepherd. 

“ And now, fair youth, Avhat may we do in thy 
behalf?” she asked, and in reply the Shepherd told 
her all his story and proffered his request. 

When he had quite finished, the Fairy Queen 
unclasped her girdle from her waist. 

“ Take this,” said she, “ and bind it round your 
Dryad’s oak. It will at once restore it and her to 
perfect health and strength ; ” and, calling to her 
secretary, she continued, “ Make out a free pass 
for this stranger and his bride, admitting them 
wdthout charge to all the haunts of fairyland;” 
which being immediately done. Her Majesty handed 
the document with royal grace to the Shepherd, 
together with a tiny book written on vellum, 
whereon were the royal arms, and inscribed in 
letters of gold the words, “A Short Road to a 


156 


IN POPPY LAND. 


Happy Marriage.” “ A trifle of my own compos- 
ing,” said the Queen, and bidding the youth fare- 
well and good-speed on his journey. Her Majesty 
signified that the audience was at an end. 

Happily bearing his gifts therefore, the Shepherd 
departed, and, taking leave of his kind friends at 
the gate of fairyland, it was not long before he 
found himself within the forest, and not far from 
the Dryad’s oak, which he reached just at eventide. 
There lay the Dryad wrapped in slumber as he had 
left her. Falling upon one knee, the Shepherd 
gazed earnestly into her face so calm, so beautiful, 
in the gathering twilight. Then, rising, he clasped 
the Queen’s girdle round the trunk of the dying 
tree which in a moment seemed to gain new life. 
And as he did so, the Dryad awoke and looking up 
beheld him; and as, hand clasped in hand, they 
stood in the very heart of the great forest, out 
from behind the clouds came the sun and cast a 
golden glory about them, while a little brown bird, 
hidden mid the branches overhead, sang sweetly to 
his mate. 


THE STORY OF KLANIVING, THE 
WOOD DEMON. 



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THE STORY OF KLANIVING, THE 
WOOD DEMON. 


Once upon a time there lived in a tiny tumble- 
down cottage on the outskirts of a great forest, a 
poor old woman and her little daughter Marietta, 
the pride and darling of her mother’s heart. 

They had lived there quite by themselves for 
years and years, for the village where they bought 
their simple food was more than a league distant, 
and few were the strangers who found their way to 
that lonely spot. Indeed it was said by some people 
that the forest was enchanted, and by others that 
a frightful dwarf dwelt there, ready and eager to 
do harm to any one who should be so foolish as to 
pass within his reach ; but Marietta only shook her 
golden curls when these things were told her, and 
as for Marietta’s mother, she was far too busy to 
heed or notice such idle talking. 

Well, the weeks went by, and one day there 
was a great commotion in the village. Marietta 
had been sent there by her mother to procure some 


160 


IN POPPY LAND. 


flax for the spinning, which in the little cottage 
seemed to go on from morning till night, and this 
was how she happened to hear that the Prince of 
the Diamond Isles was to pass through the place 
and even to stop one night there, on his way to the 
yearly tournament. And now, indeed, there was 
the wildest excitement, and with one accord the 
good people of the village trooped in a body to the 
house of the Oldest Citizen, who for a hundred 
years and over had been wont to tell them what to 
do on all occasions of importance and public inter- 
est. Marietta followed the crowd, for it was a 
sight well worth remembering when the Oldest 
Citizen could be persuaded to appear and address 
the townsfolk in his long purple mantle trimmed 
with finest wool, and his beautiful silver beard that 
nearly touched the ground. So she pattered along 
right joyfully on her little brown feet, her golden 
curls glancing and gleaming here and there through 
the crowd like an animated sunbeam, her violet 
eyes big with wonder, and the smile on her rosy 
parted lips winning kind words and gentle greet- 
ings from all near by. 

On and on they went, down one narrow crooked 
street, up another, past the town pump brave in a 
coat of fresh green paint, over by the little moss- 
grown church by the town hall, where the brass 
bell in the steeple was clanging, up a lane hedged 


KLANIVING, TEE WOOD DEMON. 


161 


in with box, through the principal square, and on 
to the house of the Oldest Citizen. There they 
stopped, and the Mayor coming forth knocked 
loudly three times amid the most profound silence, 
on the door of the cottage. Marietta stood up on 
tip-toe and looked with all her eyes, and presently 
there was a rustle and a murmur from those in 
front, and then from those further away, and then 
in a parting of the crowd Marietta caught a glimpse 
of the Oldest Citizen seated on the oaken chair of 
state and listening in turn to the chief men of 
the village. Indeed, every one was so quiet after 
the first movement of welcome, that she could 
easily catch what they were talking about, and so 
she listened as hard as ever she could. 

“ It is quite true,” the Mayor was saying, “ in 
fact, there is no doubt about it whatever, the Prince 
of the Diamond Isles is really coming, and I may 
say in my official capacity, in my present position 
as Mayor of this village, that I consider the occa- 
sion to be a very important one indeed ; ” he 
coughed slightly, and all the people cheered, but 
the Oldest Citizen said nothing. He was so very 
old, you see, that he could find time to say only 
the most necessary things, and ordinary conversa- 
tion was never expected of him. But as every- 
thing he said was always written down in the 
public records, that he should refrain from common 


162 


IN POPPY LAND. 


speech was, perhaps, quite as well. Now he only 
looked fixedly at the Town Clerk as a signal that 
his turn had come. 

The Town Clerk was very tall and thin and nerv- 
ous, and he was very much afraid of the Mayor 
also, so he only stammered that what his Honor had 
so excellently said was quite true, that his Honor 
had put the case so clearly, that in fact — 

“The point is just this,” broke in the Mayor 
impatiently, whereat the Town Clerk looked much 
relieved. “The Prince of the Diamond Isles is to 
be here to-morrow ; now what shall we do to enter- 
tain him ? ” and he looked hard at the Oldest 
Citizen. 

The Oldest Citizen bowed his head, considered 
for a few moments, and then he sat upright and 
looked straight before him. 

“ How old is the Prince ? ” he asked, and the 
Tcrwn Clerk wrote the question down in his book, 
and blotted it and then wrote it down again. 

“ His Royal Highness is in his fifteenth year,” said 
the Mayor. 

“ Bring Marietta,” said the Oldest Citizen, and 
this surprised the Town Clerk so much that he 
forgot to write down anything at all. As for 
Marietta, she could hardly believe her ears, but the 
people about her began to push her gently forward, 
and in a few moments she found herself blushing 


KLANIVING, THE WOOD DEMON. 


163 


and trembling in the open space before the chair 
of the Oldest Citizen. But though she was very- 
much surprised and a little frightened, she did not 
forget her manners, but dropped a very pretty lit- 
tle courtesy, and then remained waiting. 

There was perfect silence, and all the people 
stared; but the Oldest Citizen smiled upon her 
kindly, and, pointing straight before him to where 
she stood, said very slowly and clearly, — 

“ Marietta will entertain the Prince.” 

At this there was the greatest excitement. The 
Town Clerk dropped the public records and very 
nearly forgot to pick them up again ; every one 
began to talk at once ; the Mayor even ventured to 
remonstrate a little, but the Oldest Citizen, rising, 
signified that the interview was at an end, and the 
council had of course to break up. 

And now Marietta, in her simple cotton frock, 
became the centre of a turbulent crowd, all won- 
dering and questioning and nobody answering. 
The Mayor looked sternly at her, for he thought 
if a child was to have been chosen to entertain the 
Prince, it ought to have been his own daughter, 
and now he gave so many directions as to how 
Marietta should behave, and what she should do, 
that the little girl was quite bewildered and did 
not know whether to laugh or cry. 

One thing only she remembered, and that was 


164 


IN POPPY LAND. 


that she should come to the village early on the 
following day, there to receive further directions 
and there to be properly attired for a meeting with 
the Prince. 

The sun was blazing overhead, but Marietta ran 
all the way home to tell the surprising news to her 
mother; and she leaped over the threshold of the 
cottage hot and tired, but eager to relate the won- 
derful story ; and not so very long either after she 
had left the village. 

She found her mother spinning, just as she had 
been when she had left her in the morning, and? 
without pausing for breath, she began at once to 
say how the Oldest Citizen himself had called her 
out from among all the people, and had appointed 
her to entertain the boy Prince of the Diamond 
Isles. Her mother smiled, but hardly had Marietta 
finished her story, when from the depths of the 
forest came a peculiar cry, sweet and musical, but 
like a wail of sorrow, mio alma perdida!'" 

The mother shivered and grew pale and drew her 
little daughter nearer, and even Marietta trembled, 
though she knew not wliy. 

“What was that sound, mother?” she asked in 
a frightened whisper, “ and what did it say ? ” 

“ That is only the cry of el alma perdida^ the 
Lost Soul,” said her mother, trying to smile ; “ it is 
a bird of the forest. The villagers say that its 


KLANIVING, THE WOOD DEMON. 


165 


plaintive note is the lament of some poor child 
that, lost among the trees, becomes the prey of 
Klaniving, the Wood Demon, and, changed to a 
bird, calls forevermore, ‘ Ah mio alma jperdida^ 
‘Ah, my poor lost soul.’ ” Again the sad cry echoed 
through the cottage, and the mother rose hastily 
and shut the door. 

“Tell me further of the Prince, little daughter,” 
she said, “ and let us think no more of such foolish 
tales ; only promise me not to stray in the forest 
to-morrow, for I shall not be with you to watch 
over you, as I would wish to do, and I would 
gladly have your word to remain near at home.” 

Marietta promised, and, seeing her mother calm 
again, forgot all about the matter, and crept into 
her little bed that night to dream many wonderful 
things of to-morrow and of the Prince, but with 
not one passing thought of Klaniving or the pretty 
bird whose note sounded ever and again from 
without the rose-covered lattice of her chamber 
window. 

The next da}^ dawned clear and fine, and Mari- 
etta, after taking her simple breakfast of porridge 
and milk, started straight for the village, for the 
Prince was expected at noontime, and there was 
much to be done before his arrival. Reaching the 
principal square, she found it thronged with peo- 
ple, and the town-crier, recognizing her at once. 


166 


IN POPPY LAND. 


brought her with great ceremony to the Mayor’s 
wife. Here she was practised in making court 
courtesies, and in saying, with just the right 
amount of respect, “Yes, your Highness, and “ No, 
your Highness,” and “ May it please your roj^al 
will to do this and that and the other.” Here she 
was told that the honor of the village depended 
quite on her, and that, after the opening ceremony 
of welcome, she and the Prince of the Diamond 
Isles were to be left quite alone. Marietta paid 
great attention to all these instructions, and made 
up her mind to follow them exactly, and after 
some time she was brought into another room, and 
here she was dressed in the most beautiful clothes. 
Her frock was all of cloth of silver with a wide 
sash of pale blue, like a piece of the sky. Marietta 
thought to herself. On her head was a wreath of 
white roses, and she carried a large bunch of these 
same flowers to offer to the Prince. On her feet 
were silver shoes laced with blue ribbon, and 
though they felt very uncomfortable to Marietta’s 
unaccustomed feet, they certainly looked very 
splendid, and that was more than enough to make 
up for the pain. Then the directions were repeated 
all over again, and by that time the bell of the town 
hall began to ring, and Marietta’s heart beat high, 
for that meant that the hour had struck for the 
Prince’s coming. Then the Mayor, taking Mari- 


KLANIYING, THE WOOD DEMON. 167 

etta by the hand, led her forth ; but she did not 
have much time to think, for the Mayor walked 
very fast, and took such great steps that it was all 
she could do to keep up by his side. Soon, however, 
they reached the place where the villagers were as- 
sembled dressed in their best, and the town band, 
which had three pieces, a Jew’s-harp, a trumpet, 
and a flute, began to tune up and play “ Hail to 
tlie Chief ” as best it might. And then Marietta 
saw in the distance a tiny cloud of dust ; it grew 
larger, and now the galloping of horses’ hoofs 
might be heard, nearer and nearer, till the forward 
guard of the Prince’s party burst into sight, and 
the townspeople, throwing themselves on their 
faces, called aloud, “Welcome to our Prince!” 
“Welcome to His Highness, Heir to the Diamond 
Isles ! ” Only Marietta stood alone, and that was 
because she was too excited to remember her 
lesson in court etiquette, for there, right in front 
of her, doffing his hat and reining up his milk- 
white steed, was the Prince, and a right merry 
companion he looked with his nut-broAvn love- 
locks floating in the wind, and his dark eyes spark- 
ling with fun and good humor. Marietta almost 
forgot the splendor of his suit of Lincoln-green, 
pinked out with gold, in looking at them, and, 
worst of all, she entirely forgot her speech. 

“ How do you do?” she said shyly, and then she 


168 


IN POPPY LAND. 


reached up and handed him a rose from the bunch 
that she held in her hand. The Mayor shivered, 
and all the soldiers smiled, and some of the people 
looked at one another in shocked silence, but the 
Prince did none of these things. Taking the rose 
he kissed it, and putting it in his belt, he lightly 
swung himself down from the saddle. 

“ I am very glad to see you,” he said ; “ and will 
you tell me your name ? ” 

“ I am Marietta,” said the little girl, laughing to 
think that any one should have to ask so plain a 
question. 

“ That is the prettiest name in the world,” said 
the Prince, and then he turned to his followers. 

“ I would be alone with Marietta,” he said. 

But at this the Mayor could no longer contain 
himself. 

“ May it please your Royal Highness,” he cried 
boldly enough, though his knees trembled beneath 
him, “ we have prepared sixty-seven speeches of 
welcome; there are two poems of one hundred 
stanzas each, yet to be recited in your honor, all 
by the poets within the village. The best talent 
has been engaged.” 

“ Enough,” said the Prince. “ I thank you, but 
I must beg to decline your kindness. Farewell, 
good people, for the present.” 

He sprang again into the saddle, and, stooping, 


KLANIVING, THE WOOD DEMON. 


169 


whispered a few words into jNIarietta’s ear; giving 
her his hand, in a moment she found herself seated 
before him, and ere the Mayor could utter another 
word, or the people join in a single cheer, the 
milk-white charger of the noble Prince had borne 
the twain quite out of sight. On and on they 
went, the fresh air blowing cool upon Marietta’s 
burning cheeks, and the golden sunshine falling 
like a gloiy upon them ; on and on till they came 
to the border of the forest, and the Prince, dis- 
mounting, helped Marietta to alight. 

“ That was splendid I ” he said, out of breath, 
but laughing, and Marietta clapped her hands and 
laughed too. “ And now we can have the whole 
day together with no tiresome speeches,” he went 
on, “ and I will tell you what we will do ; you 
shall be my lady. You know that knights always 
choose a lady for their own ; they wear her colors, 
and do battle in her honor, and make every one 
honor and respect her. Now, I have been looking 
for you, just you, without knowing it, for a long, 
long time, and when I saw you standing there 
with those white roses on your head and in your 
hand, I made up my mind that if you would have 
me, I would be your knight. May I be your 
knight? You see now I can go to the tourna- 
ment and do battle in your name. I will wear 
a white rose in my helmet, and if I win the 


170 


IN POPPY LAND. 


crown of beauty, I can give it to you when I 
come back.” 

“ That would be lovely,” said Marietta, and her 
eyes sparkled. 

“ And if you are my lady,” went on the Prince, 
“ I sliall have to kill dragons and fight with giants, 
and you must send me on long and dangerous 
journeys.” 

“ Oh,” said Marietta, and her eyes grew misty 
at the very thought, “ I couldn't do that, you 
know. Why, you might get hurt.” 

“ Pooh I ” said the Prince, “ I wouldn’t care if 
it was for your sake, and besides I should come 
home again after a while, and there would be a 
great feast, and you would marry me. You would 
marry me, wouldn’t you ? ” 

‘‘ Oh, yes,” said Marietta, and then she blushed 
a little. “ I think you are the nicest boy — no, I 
mean Prince — that I ever saw,” she said. 

“ Then that’s all settled,” said the Prince, and 
he sighed contentedly, and then he looked at the 
forest. I say, what a splendid place to play hide 
and seek,” he cried, jumping up, and just then he 
caught sight of a beautiful bird that fluttered 
almost within his reach. “ Look, look ! ” he called 
to Marietta, seizing her arm and pointing upwards, 
‘‘isn’t he a beauty? Do you suppose we could 
catch him? Oh, how I wish that I had my bow 
and arrow ! ” 


KLANIVING, THE WOOD DEMON. 


171 


The bird flew temptingly nearer, and Marietta’s 
heart beat fast with excitement, her eyes followed 
its movements ; it had scarlet feathers tipped with 
gold ; its breast was a beautiful blue, that changed 
to green and a thousand colors, like a peacock’s 
tail, in the wavering light that came between the 
trees ; the beak and talons were burnished and 
black like ebony. The children drew a long breath ; 
the bird floated a little further away. 

“ Come,” said the Prince, and they both started 
in pursuit. 

Sometimes it would fly almost within reach, and 
then it would flutter away almost out of sight, but 
always coming back again. The trees were grow- 
ing thicker and thicker ; soon they came to a place 
in the forest where two narrow paths went in oppo- 
site directions ; the bird flew on straight overhead. 

“You go this way,” said the Prince, “and I will 
go the other, and we will meet later on and tell 
what luck we have had.” 

In an instant he was out of sight, and Marietta, 
not wishing to be left behind, pushed furtiier and 
further into the forest. She ran on for a long time, 
but now progress was becoming every moment 
more difficult. The scarlet plumage of the beauti- 
ful bird still gleamed here and there through the 
branches, but Marietta did not care so much now 
about catching the feathered songster. It was 


172 


IN POPPY LAND. 


very, very lonely with the great trees all around, 
stretching their tall branches up to a sky which 
Marietta could now hardly see. 

She began to call loudly for the Prince, but 
there was no reply, and now, indeed, her little 
heart beat fast with fear and sorrow. “ Why, O 
why, had she come into this hateful forest?” and 
then, for the first time, she remembered her prom- 
ise to her mother. Two big tears slowly formed 
in Marietta’s eyes and fell down her rosy cheeks ; 
her beautiful silver dress was soiled with mud and 
torn with brambles, and one silver slipper had 
fallen off and was lost in the mad chase. 

Marietta sat down on a rock and began to cry 
in good earnest. Suddenly there was a rustle 
amid the branches overhead. She looked up. 
There sat the scarlet bird, the cause of all her 
misery. It was gazing at her intently, as if enjoy- 
ing her anguish, and Marietta began to tremble, 
though she knew not why. Suddenly the bird 
seemed to grow larger. It came nearer and nearer. 
Marietta looked on in terrified wonder. 

Suddenly she sprang to her feet ; it was not a 
bird at all now, it was a little misshapen man, 
dressed all in red, with one great eye blazing in 
the very centre of his forehead. The feathered 
plumage that he had worn lay on the ground at 
one side. He looked at Marietta, and she lost all 


ELANIVING, THE WOOD DEMON. 173 

power to move. Coming nearer and nearer, he 
suddenly threw a few grains of powder in her face 
and muttered some magical words under his breath. 
Marietta grew all at once very light. The little 
mail was laughing horribly. 

In a moment she knew that he was Klaniving, 
the Wood Demon, and she tried to call out, but 
what was it she was saying? mio alma 

'perdida!'^ Oh, my lost soul! It was the very 
cry that she had heard the other night in the cot- 
tage. She looked down, and then she knew the 
truth. Her silver dress had vanished, so had her 
golden curls and her violet eyes ; there was noth- 
ing left at all of little Marietta ; she was a bird 
now, changed like many another lost child into 
that form by the wicked Wood Demon. She raised 
her wings and flew in mournful circles above the 
place. “ Ah mio alma perdida ! ” she called, but 
all was silence. Klaniving had vanished. 

We must now go back to the Prince of the Dia- 
mond Isles, whom we left running in the forest. 
He went on for some time, but, after a little, he 
noticed that the bird he was pursuing had vanished. 
He looked all around, up and down, and through 
the trees, but it was nowhere in sight. 

Then he thought of Marietta and decided to find 
her, but that was easier said than done. However, 
he started bravely to retrace his steps, for he 


174 


IN POPPY LAND. 


thought that a noble knight would hardly leave 
his chosen lady in distress, and somehow it seemed 
to him that some harm had befallen his little com- 
panion of the afternoon. But now he felt very 
tired; the brambles caught and tore at his fine doub- 
let and hose, as if to hold him back against his will. 
He called Marietta loudly, but there was no reply. 
Presently he spied something gleaming in the 
bushes to one side. It was a tiny silver shoe 
which he knew to be hers. He picked it up and 
went stoutly on, but he saw that the rose that she 
had given him was withered. 

Now he was coming to an open space, and he 
heard a gentle cry, '-'•Ah mio alma 'perdida!'"^ It 
came from a bird overhead, and the bird was acting 
very strangely. It seemed to want him to follow, 
and came so near that the Prince could have sworn 
that he saw tears in its eyes. As it flew in the 
same direction that he had come, and seemed to be 
leading towards the village, the Prince allowed 
himself to be guided by its flight. 

It went steadily forward, and by and by the trees 
began to grow less thickly together, and the Prince 
found that he could see stars in the heavens over- 
head. His heart was heavy, but he hoped that 
Marietta would be waiting for him on the outskirts 
of the . wood, and he pressed on. Now the white 
moonlight shone through the open, and made the 


KLANIVING, THE WOOD DEMON. 


175 


place almost as bright as day. A step more, and 
he had reached the clearing. 

The bird that had brought him so well and safely 
was flying above his head as if in farewell. The 
Prince looked up, and something told him that in 
that form he saw his lost companion. 

“ Marietta ! ” he called, “ Marietta ! ” but she 
only gave him one sorrowful look and vanished 
again into the forest. 

The Prince was alone, and sadly, with bent head 
and lagging feet, he went back to the village that 
lay before him, his faithful charger following behind. 
When he reached the place he found the people in 
the wildest excitement, and in their midst stood 
the Mayor in chains, for he was responsible for the 
life of the Prince, and the angry followers of the 
Heir of the Diamond Isles were about to make him 
pay the forfeit. 

The poor Mayor caught sight of His Highness 
first, and flinging himself at the Prince’s feet, be- 
sought pardon for something of which he was quite 
innocent, which, with royal clemency, was bestowed 
upon him at once. Then the Prince called for 
silence, in a loud voice, and all the people listened. 
And then he told them what had befallen himself 
and his little companion. 

“And know,” he continued, amidst the sighs 
and weeping of the people, “ that to-night I pledge 


176 


IN POPPY LAND. 


myself, by all the vows of knighthood, and by my 
good halidom, to rescue from her grievous state the 
Lady Marietta, Avhom I declare to be, from this 
moment, my own liege lady, and whose colors I 
now do wear,” and he tapped the little silver shoe 
with its blue lacing. 

At this all the people cheered, and the Mayor 
loudest of all, but only the courtiers and soldiers 
of the Prince’s guard were silent, for they knew if 
anything hapj^ened to the Heir that they would 
pay the penalty with their lives ; but though they 
did not cheer, they dared not object, for the Prince 
was the son of an Absolute Ruler, and there was 
a law which said that any one contradicting a 
member of the Royal Family was in danger of los- 
ing his head for not more than ten years or less 
than three. And this they knew to be very em- 
barrassing and uncomfortable, so they said nothing. 

And now the Prince retired to think over the 
manner of the rescue, and when morning had 
dawned he had decided, after much thought, to 
consult the Oldest Citizen. Accordingly, while 
yet the streets were quiet and few of the villagers 
astir, he knocked at the door of the house and 
demanded admittance. 

Now the Oldest Citizen could never bear to be 
disturbed of his morning’s nap, and yet he did not 
quite like to refuse the Prince ; so he told his 


KLANIVING, THE WOOD DEMON. Ill 

housekeeper to tell his Royal Highness that a 
certain old woman who lived on the borders of 
the town would meet the case exactly, and tell 
him just what to do. Now, hearing this, the 
Prince was very glad, and, with his hands in 
his pockets and whistling a merry tune, he went 
straight for the old woman’s cottage. Now the 
old woman was very near-sighted and exceedingly 
deaf, so when she saw the Prince coming, she 
thought it was the hoy who came to milk her 
cow, and, as was her custom, she handed him out 
a pail. 

The Prince thought that this was rather a queer 
thing to give him, but he was aware that very 
wise people seldom wasted words, and he supposed 
the old woman knew what she was about. He 
took it, therefore, but he could not help asking her 
if she considered a milk-pail just the thing to 
meet the case. The old woman stared and mum- 
bled something, for she had lost most of her teeth, 
and it suddenly struck the Prince that perhaps . 
she might be angry with him for his question, and 
be muttering an incantation, and not wishing to be . 
changed, perhaps into a wolf or a serpent, he took 
to his heels as fast as he could, paying no atten- 
tion to her cries, and only running more quickly, 
while she shook her crutch at him, and called him 
to come back. 


178 


IN POPPY LAND. 


On he went, and by and by he passed the little 
hut which was the dwelling of Marietta’s mother. 
He did not know this, of course, but seeing a 
woman weeping, his kind heart was filled with 
pity, and he could not help stopping to ask her 
the reason of her distress. 

The poor woman only cried more than ever at 
fii’st, but by degrees she told him all her sorrow, 
her fears for Marietta, and the story of the power 
of Klaniving, the Wood Demon. 

The Prince listened attentively, but he did not 
tell her his errand for fear that he might raise 
hopes that he could not fulfil. Still he felt so 
brave and strong that he bade her be of good 
cheer, and told her to be waiting at the threshold 
of the cottage door at nightfall, and “ perhaps, 
who knows? ” said the Prince, “you may yet have 
news of Marietta.” 

This comforted the poor woman a little in spite 
of herself, and the Prince went on his way, feeling 
somehow happier than before. 

Peaching the forest, he sat down to think. Now 
he knew that there was great danger of his being 
changed, like Marietta, into a bird, and that he 
naturally wished to avoid ; and now he remem- 
bered, for the first time, that the old woman had 
given him no directions for the use of the pail 
which he still carried. He thought and thought, 


KLANIYING, THE WOOD DEMON. 


179 


and all at once he jumped up and gave a long and 
joyful whistle of delight. At that moment the 
scarlet plumage of the ill-omened bird of yesterday 
flashed through the leaves of the wood, and, 
taking his pail in one hand and carrying Marietta’s 
tiny shoe in the other, the Prince followed. 

Deeper and deeper they went into the forest, the 
Prince keeping close watch on the flight of the 
evil bird, and feeling as brave as ever did knight 
before ; and after many weary turns and twistings, 
which the Prince was careful to note, he came all 
at once into an open space. And now the same 
thing happened that had befallen Marietta, for 
suddenly throwing aside his disguise, stood Klani- 
ving, the Wood Demon. For an instant the Prince 
remained motionless, and Klaniving chuckled with 
fiendish glee. Taking a handful of powder from 
a pouch which he wore at his side, he tried to 
throw it in the Prince’s face, but the Prince was 
too quick for him. Leaping to one side, he sud- 
denly thrust the milk-pail over Klaniving’s head, 
entirely covering him, and then he sat down upon 
it and waited, somewhat out of breath, for the 
next move. 

And now Klaniving struggled and kicked in his 
tin prison, and writhed and wiggled ; but it was no 
use; the Prince sat still, and the milk-pail did not 
move. And then Klaniving was furious. Pie 


180 


IN POPPY LAND. 


raved and muttered and cried and yelled, but 
still the Prince sat and did not say a word. Then 
Klaniving grew frightened, and begged and pleaded 
to be let out. He was stifling, he said. He 
wouldn’t, he mustn’t, he shouldn’t stay there an- 
other minute. He would give the Prince every- 
thing his heart could desire — gold and rubies, and 
diamonds as big as hens’ eggs. But the Prince 
said nothing, and only drummed with his heels on 
the side of the pail. Then screamed Klaniving in 
a rage, — 

I know what you have come for. But I won’t 
do it ! I won’t ! I won’t ! I won’t ! IVIarietta 
shall stay a bird all the days of her life I So 
there ! Oh ! oh ! ” for the Prince was beating a 
regular tattoo on the side of his prison. 

“Very well,” said the Prince calmly, “that is 
just as you say, only, in that case, you remain here ; 
and, furthermore, if I hear you scream in that dis- 
agreeable way again, I shall endeavor to turn you 
into a green horned toad.” 

At this fearful threat, Klaniving trembled all 
over ; for he was a great coward, and he did not 
know but what the Prince might be able to do what 
he said. So he began to beg for mercy ; and at last 
he offered to release Marietta if only the Prince 
would let him go. 

“Very well,” said the Prince, and Klaniving, 


KLANIVING, THE WOOD DEMON. 181 

from under his pail, whistled in a peculiar manner. 
In an instant the place was alive with birds ; but, 
alas ! the Prince could not tell one from another. 

“ Which one will you have changed - back 
again? ” asked Klaniving, laughing to himself, for 
he knew very well of what the Prince was thinking. 

And now the Prince did not know what to say, 
for all the birds looked exactly alike. 

At last a bright thought struck him. 

“I choose the one who has tears in her eyes,’^ 
said the Prince, and in a moment Marietta stood 
before him. And oh, how glad they were to 
meet again ! 

“ You will excuse my not rising,” said the 
Prince, after the first greeting was over, “ but the 
fact is, that I am sitting on this pail because 
Klaniving the Wood Demon is underneath.” 

“ Oh ! ” said Marietta, and she gave a little hop, 
and then a very little scream ; and then, suddenly, 
her eyes began to sparkle. ‘‘Make him release 
all these poor birds, too,” she said ; and the Prince 
nodded. 

“ Klaniving, you have almost won your liberty,” 
he began ; “ now it only remains for you to gratify 
this lady’s wish, which, of course, will be a great 
pleasure for you to do, and release also these poor 
children that you have wickedly lured away from 
home and changed to their present state.” 


182 


IN POPPY LAND. 


And now, if rage could kill, the Prince’s last 
hour would indeed have come ; but after storming 
for a while, so that Marietta turned white with 
terror and clung close to her companion, Klani- 
ving finally muttered the words tliat would set the 
children at liberty. 

And then what a change ! Brown-haired maids, 
and maids fair as a lily; sturdy boys in home- 
spun, and boys in silks and velvets ; and all clus- 
tering round the Prince and Marietta, and laughing 
and crying for joy by turns. 

Then the Prince asked one of them to bring a 
large rock from a little distance, and this he put 
on the top of the pail ; and then, sliding quietly 
off, he seized Marietta by the hand, and, leading 
the long procession, they ran as fast as they could 
for home, reaching the outskirts of the forest 
where the Wood Demon’s power ended, before 
Klaniving had been able to make his escape. 

And the very first place they went to was the 
cottage of Marietta’s mother ; and oh, what a 
joyful time they had ! And how Marietta kissed 
and clung to her mother; and how Marietta’s 
mother kissed and clung to her ; and what thick 
pieces of bread and honey they all ate, or bread 
and jam, if they preferred; and what a commo- 
tion there was in the village, to be sure, when the 
whole party entered! 


KLANIVING, THE WOOD DEMON. 183 

The Mayor made a long speech, though nobody 
but the Town Clerk listened; and the courtiers 
all felt of their heads, and were exceedingly glad 
to find them still firmly on their shoulders; the 
old woman had another milk-pail given her, only 
this one was filled with gold pieces ; the schools 
all closed, and roasted peanuts could be had for 
the asking at all the street corners. 

As for the Oldest Citizen, he was held in more 
respect than ever ; and I really think that he must 
have known something after all, for when the 
Town Clerk, asked him what would become of 
Marietta and the Prince, he took the public 
records and wrote with his own hand, at the end 
of the faithful relation of their adventures : — 

“ They lived happily forever after.” 





THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE 
MOUNTAIN. 


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THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE 
MOUNTAIN. 


There once lived a Queen who cared for nothing 
so much as forget-me-nots ; and because there had 
sprung from a seed which her fairy godmother had 
given her and which she liad planted on the top 
of the mountain where her palace stood, such a 
quantity of these flowers that they had gradually 
covered the whole ground, she came to be called 
the Queen of the Blue Mountain. 

Now the Queen loved her flowers as she loved 
nothing else, and for this there was a particular 
reason. It had been prophesied by an old Wizard 
of vast learning and great repute, that if a man 
should once climb the mountain, the forget-me-nots 
would wither as he passed, and that the Queen’s 
heart would break, and she would fall into a sleep 
like death; but while the flowers remained alive 
and fresh, no sorrow or harm could befall the 
Queen. 

And it was said, moreover, that if a maiden 


188 


IN POPPY LAND. 


touched with but a single one of the beautiful 
flowers her lover’s breast, that from that moment 
he would love her and think of her only. 

But this seldom happened, for the Queen guarded 
her forget-me-nots jealously. A great wall ran all 
along the base of the mountain, and the only gate 
was defended by a terrible Monster, half man and 
half beast ; and furthermore, there was issued a proc- 
lamation, that whoever should be found trying to 
pluck even one of these flowers should on that 
instant suffer death for so doing. 

The Queen lived in a palace made all of silver, 
and it was built directly on top of the Blue Mount- 
ain. In it fountains splashed musically all day 
long, and sweetest melody filled the air. Two 
white pigeons brought the Queen food whenever 
she wanted it, and her attendants were all beautiful 
maidens, chosen from among the fairest of her land. 
But among all her court there was not a single 
man; even the pages who held up the Queen’s 
train were pretty little girls, and when the Queen 
was obliged to confer with her councillors, she did 
so either by letter or else, on great occasions, leav- 
ing her walled enclosure, she Avent closely veiled 
to the city palace, and here listened to their reports 
and made knoAvn her royal wishes. 

But though she went out so seldom, the fame of 
her beauty had spread abroad, and many were the 


THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 189 


princes and noble knights that had been destroyed 
while trying vainly to scale the wall around the 
mountain, or to kill the tireless Monster who 
guarded the ponderous gate. 

Now far away from the realm of the Queen of 
the Blue Mountain there dwelt a King who had 
twenty-one children, and these one day he called 
around him. 

“ You are all grown up,” he said, “ and the time 
has come when I should resign the crown and 
divide the kingdom amongst you. With this end 
in view, I have had the number of the population 
taken, and I have found, to my sorrow, that when 
each of you has chosen his court, levied his army, 
and selected your different officers, astrologers, 
governors of provinces, and so on, none of you will 
have, properly speaking, any subjects at all. Now 
a kingdom without subjects is a kingdom not worth 
the having, and so I have gathered you here to-day 
in order to propose some plan of action. To begin 
with, I should suggest your tossing up a coin of 
the realm, and by this simple method determining 
Avho is to be my successor.” The King paused, and 
the brothers, who were delighted with this novel 
plan, acted upon it at once; and the lot was 
found to have fallen, very properly indeed, to the 
eldest. 

“ Very good,” said the King, “ and now the rest 


190 


IN POPPY LAND. 


of you must arrange matters among yourselves. 
I think, for my part, that you had better remain at 
home, and take some lucrative position at the court 
under your brother ; but if any of you should wish 
to travel and seek his fortune, I will furnish him, 
at my own expense, with a horse, three gold pieces, 
and a complete suit of armor.” 

At this the brothers cheered loudly ; but all save 
the youngest decided to remain at home. He, 
how'ever, stepped boldly forward, and, sinking on 
one knee before his father, said, — 

“ May it please your Majesty, I have decided to 
marry the Queen of the Blue Mountain.” 

At this all the brothers nudged one another and 
laughed, and the King himself put on a second pair 
of spectacles, and looked sternly at his audacious 
son. But the Prince held his ground stoutly and 
would not be dismayed. 

“By the beard of my grandfather!” said the 
King, and that was an expression he only used 
when much excited. “ Whence gets this stripling 
his assurance ? Have you not heard,” he con- 
tinued, turning to his son, “what has been the 
fate of the noblest, ay, and the bravest of every 
land and clime, who have tried to win and wed 
this Queen ? ” 

“Yes, sire,” said the Prince, “but may it please 
your Majesty, they may not have loved her as I 


THE qUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 191 

do. At any rate, I am going to have a trial, and 
do iny princely best.” 

“ Oh, very well, very well,” said the King, and 
he coughed very hard, and tried to think that was 
what caused the mistiness in his eyes. “ Here are 
your three gold pieces, and your horse and armor 
you will find in the courtyard,” and then he stood 
up, to signify that the interview was at an end. 

So the Prince shook hands with all his brothers, 
and, tying his money up in a corner of his pocket- 
handkerchief, went out in the courtyard, where he 
found, as his father had promised, a complete suit 
of armor, and a noble steed as black as midnight. 
Mounting gayly, therefore, he rode away, and 
soon the arches and towers of the castle that 
had been his home were lost to sight. He jour- 
neyed blithely onward for many a league, stopping 
at nightfall to rest, and making his food of burds 
and berries, and sometimes of fruit, drinking at 
wells and wandering streams, and letting his good 
horse crop the grass whenever he listed. In this 
way they travelled through a great part of the 
country, until at last, very faintly in the distance, 
the Prince discerned something that his heart told 
him was the Blue Mountain which he sought, and 
which was to be the end of his journeying. Ap- 
proaching nearer, he saAV by the wayside a singular 
hut or cavern all of rock, before which hung a 


192 


IN POPPY LAND. 


swinging sign; and reining in his charger, the 
Prince read in large black letters : — 

^^THIS IS THE HOUSE OF THE PRINCIPAL ENCHANTER. 

ENCHANTING DONE HERE AT REDUCED RATES. 

WALK IN.” 

“ Now this is just what I am looking for,” said 
the Prince, and he dismounted, and tied his horse 
to a tree. 

The cavern when he had entered was so dark 
that the Prince ^ could with difficulty distinguish 
anything, but, after having stepped on the tail of a 
dragon that was dozing in a corner, and having 
very nearly tumbled over a seething caldron, and 
into a tub filled with the water of life, he finally 
saw, in the remotest corner of the place, a tiny jet 
of flame, over which an old man was stooping, and 
which shot forth forked tongues of fire, now green, 
now crimson, and now violet. 

“ May it please you,” said the Prince, taking off 
his cap, for he had very good manners, “ how am I 
to reach the palace of the Queen of the Blue 
Mountain?” 

“ In order to reach the palace of the Queen of 
the Blue Mountain, you must first kill the Monster 
that guards her gate. Two gold pieces, please,” 
said the Enchanter in a monotonous tone. 

The Prince hastily paid the required sum. 


THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN 193 

“And now, how am I to kill the Monster?” 
asked the Prince. 

“ That,” said the Principal Enchanter, “ will be 
extra. Have you two more gold pieces ? ” 

“ Alas ! no,” said tlie Prince. 

“ Then I can tell you nothing further,” said the 
Enchanter, and he went on with his work, which 
was to find why fire burnt, and Avhy water ran 
down-hill. 

At this the Prince was exceedingly angry, and 
he struck the fioor of the cavern with the end of 
his sword. 

“ Tell me instantly,” he cried, “ or by my 
knightly troth I will have your head!” But the 
Enchanter only pointed to a placard on the wall, 
wdiere, by the fitful glare of the magician’s lamp, 
the Prince read : — 

“any one creating a disturbance in this place 

SHALL BE IMMEDIATELY" EATEN BY" THE DRAGON. 

PER ORDER OF THE PRINCIPAL ENCHANTER.’’ 

“Very well,” said the Prince, “very well; ” but 
there did not seem to be anything else to say, so 
he WTilked out again, and mounted his horse, for 
he reflected that if he w"ere eaten by the dragon 
to-day, he could not possibly win or wed the 
Queen of the Blue jMountain to-morrow, and so he 
decided to postpone the battle until some more 
auspicious occasion. 


194 


IN POPPY LAND. 


However, two gold pieces were gone, and that 
made him feel very sad, and he rode along, with 
his heart filled Avith grief, and his head upon his 
breast. 

So sorrowful indeed Avas he, that he did not 
notice at all Avhere he Avas going, till suddenly his 
horse stopped of his OAvn accord, and right in front 
of him he beheld a little old Avoman, bent and 
AAuthered, Avho seemed to be in great pain. 

At this the Prince at once leaped off his charger 
and bending over her he asked her Avhat was the 
trouble. 

“Fair son,” said the old woman faintly, “I am 
spent Avith fatigue and the heat of the day, and I 
have come from a long distance. Do you put me 
on your horse and take me to mine own dwelling- 
place.” 

“Right gladly, good mother,” said the Prince, 
and lifting her tenderly, he put her on his steed, 
and, taking the bridle, led him sloAvly and care- 
fully along. “ Whither shall Ave go, good mother? ” 
he asked. 

“ Straight before you as the crow flies,” answered 
the dame in a cracked voice, and in this fashion 
the odd pair Avent on their Avay. 

Then, to beguile the journey, the Prince told the 
old Avoman (ff all that had happened to him, and 
of all that be hoped to do, and to this she listened 


THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 195 

patiently, nodding her head and asking now and 
again some question. 

At last th(3y came in sight of a tiny house, 
almost covered with climbing roses, and here the 
old woman signified that she wished to stop. 

“ Thank you, and bless you, fair son,” said she, 
and her voice was now both low and musical, and 
so different from her former high-pitched tones, 
that the Prince looked up in surprise, and there, 
seated on his charger, was no old Avoman at all, 
but a beautiful fairy in gauze and gold, who 
smiled and nodded pleasantly at him, and laid a 
hand upon his arm as white as a snowflake and 
very nearly as small. 

“ I am Graciosa,” she said, still smiling, “ and, 
by my faith, I like thee much. Prithee, help me 
to dismount, that I may show thee what the price 
of a fairy’s gratitude be like,” and, touching the 
Prince’s shoulder with the tips of her fingers, she 
swung herself lightly down from the saddle. 

Now all this time the Prince was too amazed 
and enraptured to speak, but at last he found his 
tongue. 

“ Dear lady,” said he, “ I am well repaid already 
for my small service. Let me but kiss thy hand, 
and I shall be forevermore thy debtor.” 

Now Graciosa Avas a fairy, but she Avas not above 
liking a well-turned compliment as Avell as any- 


196 


IN POPPY LAND. 


body, so, though she tapped the Prince on the 
cheek with her wand, and called him a sad, sad 
flirt, and a gay deceiver, it is not . unlikely that 
she was somewhat pleased after all. 

“ And now to business,” said Graciosa gayly. 
“I am tAVO thousand years old, and therefore 
somewhat wiser than thyself, sweet knight.” 

“ I should not have thought it,” murmured the 
Prince, referring to the fairy’s antiquity. 

“ And I should advise thee,” continued the fairy, 
“ to give up thy quest in regard to the Queen of 
the Blue Mountain ; but, if thou dost insist ” — 

“ Oh, I must insist,” interrupted the Prince. 

“ Then will I help thee as far as in me lies, but, 
unfortunately, that is not so very far. I can 
merely aid thee to kill the Monster that guards 
her palace, but further than that I am powerless 
to succor thee.” 

“ That is immaterial,” said the Prince politely. 
“ If I can kill the Monster, I shall consider my 
labors as at an end.” 

“ On the contrary,” said the fairy, “ they Avill 
have but just begun. However, if thou art de- 
cided, I will tell thee Avhat thou must do. The 
Monster is invulnerable, that is, no Aveapon can 
pierce his scaly hide ; if thou art resolved to con- 
quer thou shouldst do it in this Avay,” and she 
stooped and AAdiispered something in his ear. 


THE qUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 197 

“ Oh, thank you,” said the Prince, ‘‘ that is a 
very good way indeed. I shall try it immediately. 
In fact, this very night, and 1 think that you are 
very, very kind.” 

•‘Well,” said the fairy, “I’m ‘sure I wish thee 
good luck,” and, waving her hand in farewell, she 
disappeared Avithin the rose-covered cottage, and 
the Prince rode oiiAvard to the city that lay before 
him. 

Coming to the gate, he was admitted by the 
warden, and after asking his way to the nearest 
shop, he bought a large and very strong net and a 
ball of the stickiest kind of pitch. This took his 
last gold piece, but he did not regret it as he had 
done the other two, and, carefully carrying his pur- 
chases, he again left the city and approached the 
foot of the Blue Mountain. 

The moon had just risen as he neared its base, 
and by its light the Prince saw the horrible INIoii- 
ster that guarded the place, marching in watchful 
strides up and down by the wall and gate, and 
uttering, from time to time, fearful cries, that made 
the Prince’s blood to freeze in his veins and his 
horse to tremble in every limb. However, the 
Prince was not daunted, but slipping quietly from 
th^ saddle, he took the ball of pitch in his hand and 
began to smear Avith it the inner lining of the net. 
All this time the Monster had been gro Aving more and 


198 


IN POPPY LAND. 


more uneasy, and when the Prince had quite fin- 
ished, and had stepped out from the shadow into the 
open moonlight, the creature gave a fearful roar, 
and rushed forward with uplifted club to kill him. 

But the Prince held his ground, and just as the 
Monster approached and was aiming a fearful blow, 
he dexterously threw the net over the creature’s 
head and the club descended with a harmless crash. 
Then there was a terrible struggle ; the Monster 
bit and fought and kicked, but all in vain ; for the 
more he tried to get out, the faster the pitch stuck, 
and the more the meshes of the net wound him 
round. At last, however, he lost his footing and 
fell, and the Prince saw the Monster lying quite 
still and dead with his neck broken. 

Then the Prince, with his heart beating high 
with hope, entered the palace gate, and as he 
walked up the path, the forget-me-nots on every 
side lay withered and dead behind him. 

Finally he reached the silver portico of the pal- 
ace, and there, surrounded by her weeping maids, 
he beheld the Queen of the Blue Mountain stand- 
ing, wringing her hands, while her beautiful hair 
fell in heavy ebon masses like a veil about her 
white shoulders. At this the Prince was filled with 
sorrow, and ran forward to assure her of his love 
and homage ; but as he approached she grew pale 
and would have fallen had he not caught her in 


THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 199 

his arms. Her beautiful head lay on his shoulder, 
and she just looked up at him once and smiled. 

‘‘You are dearer to me than my forget-me-nots,” 
she said, and then her eyes closed and her form 
relaxed. 

“ You have killed her ! you have killed her ! ” 
cried all the maids of honor, and they raised their 
voices and wept. 

But the Prince was silent. He remained motion- 
less and overcome with grief for a long time, and 
then he raised his head. 

“ Take me to the throne-room of state,” he said ; 
and, bearing still the lifeless figure of the Queen, he 
followed w^hither they led him, and, coming to the 
spot, he placed her upon the ivory tlirone and put- 
ting the crown upon her head, he turned to the 
astonished damsels. 

“ I leave you,” he said, “ for the present, to 
watch and wait beside your Queen, who now lieth 
under a grievous spell. Remain faithful ; I shall 
return and undo the mischief that my reckless 
haste hath unwittingly wrought. Surely, if so 
deep a love as mine can cause so great a woe, it 
shall yet lead to our further joy and to the restor- 
ing of this, my liege lady, to life and liberty. 
But, so that I come not in a year and a day, 
believe then all hope to be at an end. IMeanwhile, 
I charge you, watch and wait,” and turning, the 


200 


IN POPPY LAND. 


Prince strode from among them and out and 
away. 

But when he came to the place where he had 
left his horse, he found that, terrified by the battle 
with the Monster, his charger had broken loose, 
and in the distance the Prince could just hear 
the sound made by his steed’s retreating hoofs. 
However, the Prince was already so sad that this 
did not seem to matter much ; and though it was 
on foot that he had to journey, he walked to such 
good purpose that before sunrise he had traversed 
the weary leagues that lay between him and the 
rose-covered cottage of the fairy Graciosa whither 
he was bound, and the earliest gleam of dawn was 
just breaking, when, stained with dust and travel, 
he knocked loudly at her door. 

It opened at once to the^ summon-s and there stood 
the fairy, smiling graciously upon him, and bidding 
him enter and be of good cheer. 

“ I know all that has happened,” said she, “ but 
keep up thy courage, and I will relate to thee what 
thou must do.” 

First, however, she made him partake of the 
fare that her house afforded, and when he was 
somewhat refreshed she proceeded : — 

“ It now depends altogether on the stoutness of 
thine heart, fair Prince, if, mayhap, the Queen be 
restored to life and the evil spell be broken. And 


THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 201 


first, why went ye not to the cavern of the Prin- 
cipal Enchanter for counsel in this matter ? ” 

“Nothing,” said the Prince with feeling, “would 
ever make me consent to visit that place again.” 

At this the fairy smiled somewhat, but soon be- 
coming grave again, she went on and related to 
attentive ears what the Prince was to do to save 
the Queen. 

She told him that growing in the garden of the 
fairy godmother of the Queen there were a few 
sprays of the magic forget-me-not, like to those 
which had formerly bloomed near the royal pal- 
ace, and that they were the only forget-me-nots of 
the kind in the Avhole world. 

One of these flowers laid on the lips and on the 
heart of the Queen would immediately restore her 
to life, but the one who plucked these magic blos- 
soms must first have passed successfully the three 
tests of patience, bravery, and love. “For,” said 
Graciosa to the Prince, “ sucli a one, unless he were 
proven gentle, courageous, and faithful, would 
wither, by his slightest touch, the flower, and the 
last hope of the Queen’s release from a living death 
would have vanished, never to return. And now,” 
she continued, “it remains for thee to tell me 
whether thou dost wish to pass these three trials, 
for they are hard^to bear, and many the noble 
knights, ay, and the sons of kings, who have fal- 


202 


IN POPPY LAND. 


tered and fallen by the wayside. Think well 
upon thy answer, for thy choice imports thee 
much.” 

“ Surely,” said the Prince, his face in a fine glow 
of generous resolve, “ surely I were thrice a coward 
could I give aught but one reply to such a ques- 
tion,” and, sinking on one knee before the fairy, 
he continued, “ O kind and gentle Graciosa, take 
pity on my distress and show me how I may restore 
my Queen to life.” 

And now the fairy smiled right joyfully upon 
him. 

“ What help I may bestow is thine,” she said, 
“ though I fear me I may not aid thee much. But 
trust in thy cause, and make thy good sword thy 
friend, and all will yet be well.” 

Going to the casement she blew a shrill blast 
by means of the silver whistle that hung by her 
side. 

“ That is to summon my chariot,” said she, “ and 
in it I will conduct thee to the dwelling-place of 
the Queen’s godmother. She is a very powerful, 
and I am afraid a rather disagreeable old fairy, and 
they tell me she is difficult to get along with ; but 
she loves the Queen, and if thou dost please her, 
and art proven faithful, she will doubtless assist 
thee in thy need and bestow the magic flower 
upon thee ; and now let us come.” 


THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 203 

So saying, she stepped across the threshold, and 
the Prince, following, beheld the most beautiful 
chariot he had ever seen. It was shaped like a 
shell and was made all of ivory inlaid with gold 
and mother-of-pearl ; the cushions and linings Avere 
of rose-colored silk, and it was drawn by ten milk- 
AA^hite doves harnessed AAuth 'silken cord strung 
Avith little bells that tinkled musically at every 
motion. 

Stepping lightly in, Graciosa bade the Prince 
follow, and Avhen they AA^ere seated, the doves, 
spreading their Avings, carried them upAvard so very, 
very far, that the green earth beneath them seemed 
miles aAvay, and the tallest tree-top looked no big- 
ger than a toadstool, AAdiile the palace of the Queen 
of the Blue Mountain shoAved no larger than a 
peasant’s hut, so great Avas the distance. 

Faster and faster they Avent, and the Prince, 
looking down, beheld a A^ast expanse of AA^ater, 
green flecked Avith AAdrite, that rose and fell in 
ceaseless, tireless motion. 

“Are Ave almost there?” asked the Prince, but 
Graciosa silently shook her head. 

On and on they Avent, and soon the SAvaying of 
the chariot began to make the Prince feel A^ery 
sleepy. He tried his best to keep his eyes open, for 
he felt that it would be veiy impolite to doze in the 
presence of a lady, but it AA^as no use. Do AAdiat he 


204 


IN POPPY LAND. 


would, his head would nod, and his eyes would 
shut almost in spite of himself ; and at last thought 
the Prince, “I won’t go to sleep, but I’ll just close 
my eyes for a moment.” 

But before he knew it he was wrapped in slum- 
ber; and indeed it was many hours later wh-en 
Graciosa, lightly tapping him on the arm with her 
wand, awoke him, and, pointing to a tiny speck in 
the distance, now rapidly growing larger, told the 
bewildered and only half-conscious Prince that he 
now beheld the home of the fairy godmother of the 
Queen of the Blue Mountain. 

Suddenly the chariot began to swing lower, and 
before long it stopped altogether, and the Prince 
found himself on solid earth again, and with 
Graciosa he began to walk up the narrow path 
that led to a dainty cottage, over whose latticed 
windows vines were climbing. A tin}" wreath of 
smoke curled slowly upward from the little 
chimney, and a twittering group of sparrows 
chirped and gossiped under the eaves of the 
thatched roof, and indeed it all looked so comfort- 
able that the spirits of the Prince began to rise, 
and his heart to feel as light as a thistledown. 

“ Courage ! ” said Graciosa, and she rapped 
softly with the bright polished knocker. At this, 
there was heard from within a noise as of the 
clatter of high-heeled shoes on a wooden floor, and 


THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 205 


ill a moment the door was swung open, and on the 
threshold the Prince beheld the funniest little old 
woman he had ever seen in his life. To be^in 
Avith, she was very, very small, and she ivore a 
white frilled cap as big as a cabbage, from beneath 
which gleamed a pair of black eyes as sharp as a 
gimlet, and a good deal more penetrating. She 
wore a short quilted petticoat of light blue satin, 
and a white scarf folded cornenvise, like a hand- 
kerchief, Avas neatly pinned across her shoulders. 
In one hand she carried an ebony crutch that 
shone like glass Avith polishing, and on her feet 
were the little red shoes that the Prince had heard ; 
and noAV he noticed that they had very high heels 
indeed, and Avere ornamented Avith very large 
diamond buckles. 

“ Hoity-toity ! ” said the fairy godmother to 
Graciosa, and looking not too well pleased, “ Avhom 
have we here ? ” 

“ This, dear sister, is a suitor for the hand of 
your god-daughter, the Queen of the Blue Mount- 
ain,” said Graciosa, smiling. 

“ Fiddlesticks ! ” said the fairy godmother, and 
she glared harder than ever at the Prince. 

“ Oh, but that is a fact,” said Graciosa kindly, 
“ for you must knoAV that he has vanquished the 
Monster that guarded the Queen’s gate, and that he 
is noAV come to go through the three tests pre- 


206 


IN POPPY LAND. 


scribed by yourself for any one aspiring to your 
godchild’s hand ; and it is with the hope of rescu- 
ing the Queen from her present evil plight that he 
ventures to come to you.” 

“ Better far that she should remain as she is, than 
that she should wed a trumpery Prince,” snapped 
the fairy godmother, but she could not well refuse 
to allow the Prince a trial, at all events, and so 
she asked him grudgingly to come in, and asked 
Graciosa also, a little less crossly, if she would not 
enter likewise, and partake of some refreshment 
after her journey. But at this the fairy begged to 
be excused; she had urgent business, she said, 
with the King of the Polar Regions, and she could 
not linger any longer; so, casting an encouraging 
glance at the Prince, and dropping a courtesy to 
the fairy godmother, she bade them both farewell, 
and entering her chariot, was soon lost to sight. 
And now the Prince was alone with the god- 
mother of his best beloved, but try as he might, he 
could think of nothing whatsoever to say. And 
all this time the fairy godmother was boring 
him through and through with her gimlet-like 
eyes. 

“Well,” said slie, “how much longer are you 
going to keep me standing here ? ” but as the 
Prince, much abashed, went to step over the 
threshold, she pulled him sharply back. “He 


THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 207 

wants to marrj^my god-daughter, and he doesn’t 
know enough to wipe his feet on the door-mat ! ” 
she said, speaking perhaps to the empty air, or 
perhaps to a large green parrot that peered down 
at the strange pair through the bars of a silver 
cage that swung from a beam overhead. 

And now the hrst trial of the Prince began in 
good earnest, for from early in the morning till late 
at night, the tongue of the fairy godmother was 
never idle, and, try as he might, everything the 
Prince did was clumsy, awkward, and worth noth- 
ing. His tasks were so many, and, to his unaccus- 
tomed hands, so difficult, that he felt sometimes 
that if he were not careful, he should pick the 
whole cottage up in one hand and cast it into the 
sea ; but he kept the face of his lady-love before 
him at his work, and for her sake refrained from 
even a single reproach, or impatient word, or look, 
or gesture. 

All this continued for many days, till at last, 
one morning when he had come down as usual, he 
found the fairy godmother waiting for him, and it 
seemed somehow to the Prince as though she 
regarded him with a little more favor than she had 
ever done before. 

Not that her voice was less sharp, or her tongue 
more silent, but rather, that her eyes were gentler ; 
and once, when she thought he was not looking. 


208 


IN POPPY LAND. 


the Prince fancied that he even saw her smile. 
But when evening came she called him. 

“ Prince,” said she, “ your first trial is ended. 
It remains for you to prove whether you are as 
brave as you are gentle ; for though you be patient 
enough, I love not cowards.” 

At this the Prince flushed hotly, and clapped his 
hand to his sword. 

“ Show me but what I am to do,” he said. 

“ Come then with me,” answered the fairy god- 
mother dryly, and went out of the cottage, the 
Prince following. It was bright starlight outside, 
and the parrot in the silver cage looked like noth- 
ing so much as a ball of ruffled feathers. On they 
went, never speaking a word, till they came to a 
hill that the Prince never remembered to have 
seen before. Here the fairy godmother stopped, 
and, tapping three times upon its grassy side, the 
Prince saw a door slowly open, revealing a long 
corridor of black marble, hung with thousands of 
little lamps that twinkled and flashed like so 
many fire-flies. At the further end of the palace 
was a massive gate of wrought iron, thickly 
studded with brazen spikes. “ Here,” said the 
fairy godmother, ‘‘ I must leave you. Within is 
the Hall of Myths. There must you spend to- 
night in vigil. Knock boldly, and enter.” 

So saying, she vanished, and the Prince 


■ THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 209 

found himself quite alone. There was the most 
profound silence, and the heart of the Prince 
seemed to leap within him. But he thought of 
her whom he loved, and knocked boldly upon 
the massive portal with the hilt of his trusty 
sword. 

It swung slowly back at the summons, upon its 
hinges, and the Prince entered. 

All was darkness, and at first he could perceive 
nothing, till at length advancing, he found him- 
self encompassed by a shadowy circle of white 
shapes, who slowly revolved about him, and who, 
to an accompaniment of clanking chains, slowly 
chanted a weird and plaintive ditty, broken only 
by an occasional wail of sorrow. 

The Prince listened attentively to all this, but 
somehow he did not feel at all frightened, but only 
a little bored. 

‘‘ It is really very monotonous,” he said to him- 
self ; and finally he broke the silence, and asked 
one of the shapes if it would not be so kind as to 
talk to him, and relieve somewhat the dull hours 
which must still elapse ere morning. 

But at the sound of a human voice there was 
the wildest commotion ; the shapes melted away 
and vanished in opposite directions. There was a 
subdued murmur, the gleam of white drapery 
hidden in a moment by the darkness, and then, in 


210 


IN POPPY LAND. 


a moment, silence ; and tlie Prince found himself 
once more alone. 

All at once, however, a tremor overspread his 
body, and his heart beat thick and fast ; for there, 
in one corner, the Prince beheld two fiery eyes 
that gleamed like sparks, and that seemed ever 
and anon to come nearer. 

Soon, indeed, there sounded on the marble pave- 
ment the patter of four tiny feet, and the Prince 
shook as with an ague, for he knew at last, and 
the thought paralyzed him with terror, that the 
creature that was approaching him was a mouse. 

Now a mouse was the one thing of all others 
that the Prince feared, and it is safe to say that he 
would much rather have faced a man-eating tiger 
or the fiercest kind of a dragon than this harmless 
little animal. Horror kept him motionless, and 
soon the mouse came nearer. It made little play- 
ful dashes at him from across the hall, and the 
hair of the Prince rose up on end, and his tongue 
clove to the roof of his mouth. 

“ Oh, for a chair ! ” thought the Prince, and he 
tried to make himself as small as possible, till all 
at once the face of the Queen of the Blue Mount- 
ain floated before him, and, with a wild cry, he 
sprang forward, sword in hand, upon the enemy. 
The next moment, and mouse, shapes, hall, had 
vanished, and he found himself on the green hill- 


THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 211 


side, with the fairy godmother beside him, and the 
golden sun rising in the distance from behind the 
purple mountains. The Prince was very pale, and 
he still clutched his sword ; but the relief was so 
great that had the fairy godmother looked one 
fraction of an inch less forbidding, he would have 
kissed her on the spot. Perhaps she knew this, for 
at any rate she smiled ; but, growing grave again, 
she took him by the hand, and led him in the di- 
rection of a pond that, calm and placid and 
encircled with violets, lay, a woodland mirror, at 
his feet. 

“ Fair Prince,” she said, and lier voice was as 
sweet as a mother’s talking to her child, “you have 
stood two tests bravely. Now comes the third, 
which is far more difficult than aught you have yet 
been through. Stoop down ; ” and, as he did so, 
she made some passes with her fingers over the 
Prince's eyes, and murmured some words to her- 
self in a low voice. 

“ Now look,” said she, and the Prince, following 
her motioning finger, gazed fixedly into the unrip- 
pled surface of the water. At first he saw nothing 
but blue sky and the branches of trees ; but after a 
little a something appeared, which, growing more 
and more distinct, showed the Prince the throne- 
room of the silver palace of the Queen of the Blue 
Mountain. 


212 


IN POPPY LAND. 


And now the Prince grew hot and cold by turns, 
for, seated on the throne, he beheld the lady of his 
choice, her dark hair falling like a veil about her, 
the crown of diamonds upon her head, and her 
beautiful eyes closed as if in slumber. Around 
her, in various positions, were her maids of honor ; 
and now the Prince noticed that they began to 
point in wonder towards the door, and talk among 
themselves. Suddenly the heavy curtain that 
screened the entrance to the audience chamber 
was thrust aside, and the Prince started ; for there, 
with his back towards him, stood a tall, richly 
attired youth; and now the Prince grew faint, for 
in the stranger’s hand he beheld the magic flower. 
Nearer and nearer came the youth to the throne 
where the Queen reposed, till at last he reached its 
foot. Stooping over, he was about to touch the 
lips and heart of the Queen with the life-begetting 
plant, when the Prince, who was no longer master 
of himself, called out in anguish for him to desist. 
As if hearing the voice of command, the youth 
hesitated; and on the instant a voice, sweeter than 
the music of an geolian harp, came floating as from 
a great distance to the Prince. 

“ O son,” it said, “ is this then thy love ? 
Because a stranger bringeth life to thy Queen, dost 
thou then condemn her to endless sleep ? If thine 
own power to aid be vanished, dost refuse that 


THE QUEEN OF THE BLUE MOUNTAIN. 213 

which comes from another ? Is it to be health and 
happiness for thy Queen, though it be health and 
happiness through and with another, or dost thou 
will her whom thou lovest to lie in soulless slumber 
forever? ” 

The voice died away, and the Prince gazed yet 
upon the vision. It grew clearer and clearer, and 
never had the Queen looked so beautiful. 

Suddenly, with a loud cry, he flung his hands 
above his head. 

“Farewell, farewell,” he ealled in broken ac- 
cents to the sleeping Queen, “and awake to joy 
and life ! ” 

With breaking heart he turned away ; but the 
fairy godmother motioned silently again towards 
the pool. The Prince turned for one last look, and 
lo ! his Queen had opened her eyes ; she was smil- 
ing, smiling at him ; and in the face of the stranger 
youth by her side the Prince discerned his own 
features. 

“ O faithful Prince ! ” a voice beside him was 
saying, and there stood the fairy godmother fairly 
beaming with smiles. 

“ Come,” she said, “ the third trial is over, and 
it is with joy and not with mourning that I bestow 
upon thee the hand of my well-beloved god-daugh- 
ter ;” and leading him to a little nook closely hid- 
den from prying eyes, she showed him the blue 


214 


IN POPPY LAND. 


forget-me-nots waving gently in the summer wind, 
and seeming to beckon him to approach nearer. 

“Pluck them fearlessly,” said the fairy god- 
mother, “ for your hands are clean and your heart 
is pure.” And as the Prince stooped to gather the 
lovely flower, she whispered, — 

“You have but to wish, to find yourself once 
again with the lady of your choice.” 

The Prince kissed her hand gratefully, and in 
another moment he found himself, the saving bloom 
in his hand, and his feet on the threshold of the 
throne-room of state. 

Sitting calmly, with a smile on her lips as he 
had left her, was the Queen of the Blue Mountain, 
and the Prince advancing laid the flower upon her 
lips and heart. 

A beautiful flush, as of the morning, stole into her 
cheeks, and her eyes slowly opened and rested full 
upon the Prince ; and smiling a little the rosy 
flush deepened, and softly to him she spoke in this 
wise : “ O Prince, I have slumbered long and 
deeply, but only have I dreamed of thee.” 

And, taking her by the hand, the Prince led 
her forth, and as they passed adown the garden- 
walk, lo ! the forget-me-nots about them were 
blooming. 











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